Opponents of a development they say will see a brewery operating on a sacred site recently took their concerns to the City of Mandurah offices to protest in person.

Elder Aunty Ivy Bennell and the Strong Women's Group reiterated their call on the City of Mandurah to "abandon the plan to put 'grog' on sacred land and to halt the excision of Hall Park for a private Brewery".

On Friday afternoon a group gathered at the Council's HQ in the Western Australian town of Mandurah, 70km south of Boorloo, "to demand to be heard and respected with their wish to save the park for the whole community".

Mrs Bennell sought to present a letter to the City's chief executive Casey Mihovilovich setting out the group's concerns about the proposal.

In late February 105 ratepayers petitioned the Council to rescind its decision regarding a lease granted to Left Coast Leisure Group for a 650-seat brewery/restaurant, chocolate factory and 18-hole mini golf on the Western Foreshore. The opponents of the development say a significant heritage area encompasses most of the Mandurah Western Foreshore and includes a Noongar camp where George Winjan, an Aboriginal Elder, lived in the 19th century.

The City of Mandurah Director of Business Services, Tahlia Jones, told the Mandurah Times at the time the WA Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage confirmed works would not fall within Winjan's Camp. However, according to the Department the specific location of Winjan's Camp is not publicly available and is restricted information.

The City said it has advised Nala Boodja Aboriginal Corporation they will need to lodge an Aboriginal Cultural Heritage submission to the Department to register if they wished to revise the recorded boundary of the site.

Organisers of the action on Friday said it was a peaceful action and showed "terrific unity", and that the City called in the police, with several officers and six cars in attendance.

"Police were not happy to have their resources wasted" the group said.

Mrs Bennell's daughter Kayleen Bennell said the City's chief executive had disrespected her mother by not taking the letter from her, rather asking that she place it on the desk.

"How dare you disrespect my mother the community Elder today when she wanted to hand you a letter regarding the Western foreshore. You asked my mother to place it on the bench because you couldn't take it from her hand – why?" she wrote on social media on Friday.

Mandurah Mayor Caroline Knight told National Indigenous Times that while the City respects the right to peaceful protest, on Friday, "a group of people entered the City's customer service foyer with raised voices and signage protesting a proposed commercial development on the Western Foreshore".

"They disrupted operations, were filming and photographing and left staff and customers feeling unsafe," she said.

"Police were called out of a duty of care to staff and customers; they were not called to shut down the protest, but to proactively assist in avoiding a potentially escalating situation for everyone involved.

"The group asked to see the CEO to hand over a letter, which had already been received via email the previous day, and they were intent on filming the interaction presumably to publicise their cause. The CEO requested not to be filmed, and instead the group chose to record Mrs Ivy Bennell placing the letter on the counter."

The Mayor said "the value of our relationships with local Traditional Owners is incredibly important" to the City.

"This continues to be a significantly emotive topic and we continue to welcome all engagement and dialogue on the future of the Western Foreshore. Importantly, we've received confirmation from the State Government on several occasions that the location of the proposed Western Foreshore commercial site is not currently registered as an Aboriginal heritage site; however, we would encourage and support local Elders in pursuing formal recognition should they wish to do so," she said.

Frank Nannup from Winjan Aboriginal Corporation told the Mandurah Times last month that the Western Foreshore has always been a family area.

"An alcohol outlet shouldn't be there, alcohol should be elsewhere," he said.