SA wine region development to go ahead

A controversial housing development at the gateway to South Australia's McLaren Vale wine region will go ahead despite opposition from winemakers.

Winemakers opposed the plans because the Seaford Heights site is the strategic entry point to the wine and food tourism region.

Urban Development Minister John Rau says that after consulting the community he has approved a revised plan that increases a buffer zone around the development and will improve its visual appeal.

"The government has understood the concerns raised and delivered a solution that ensures that the character of the region is retained," Mr Rau said in a statement on Wednesday.

The government would provide funds to create a green gateway to one of the state's most significant wine districts, ensuring a rural vista is retained along the northern entrance to McLaren Vale, he said.

The $500 million development will comprise more than 1100 houses.

nineMSN

New Cellar door to open .... 1.1km from Bellevue B&B....

THE Angove winery is commonly associated with its long-standing vineyards and winery at Renmark in the Riverland, and with its now-closed historic cellar door and winery at Tea Tree Gully, Angove Wines has laid the slab for a new cellar-door centre in McLaren Vale.


The Angove family is retaining its cellar door and winery in Renmark, but the new Chalk Hill Road centre marks a step up in its relationship with the McLaren Vale region, a source of its fruit for the past decade.

The new building will contain a modern cellar door, casual lounge and dining areas with outdoor kitchen and courtyard, and will offer cheese platters when it opens this year.

Another cellar door in a region with already more than 70 showed McLaren Vale was still growing as a food and wine destination.