EARLY PLANS FAIL TO MAKE CUT
Council issues ‘please explain’ on vision for former golf course site
CAIRNS Regional Council has issued the developers of the former Paradise Palms golf course with a series of questions relating to its redevelopment of the property.
Opponents of the development are concerned about the number of issues which have not been addressed.
THE developers of the former Paradise Palms golf course at Kewarra Beach have been asked to explain several aspects of the proposal by Cairns Regional Council, including the impact on surrounding residential properties.
The council’s planning and environment general manager Kelly Reaston has asked for more information to clarify differences between the company’s overall master plan and a plan of development for the former golf course and how they compared with current council planning schemes.
The council has also asked PPNQ to provide evidence backing up claims that the current sport and recreation zoning of the land “no longer appropriately responds to the desires, aspirations and needs of the community and does not facilitate the full range of uses which are most appropriate for the site based on market forces and the surrounding land use patterns”.
“Officers consider that the application has not demonstrated that the proposed development will not have an adverse impact on existing uses and surrounding land zoned for similar uses,” says a letter to the developers.
“Officers raise concern regarding the extent of infrastructure and open space areas required to be maintained by council, should the development be freehold.”
Paradise Palms owner Darren Halpin said the level of query “was expected” due to the nature of the “large, integrated project”.
“The council rightly wants to understand what’s happening,” he said.
“It’s certainly not a simple project where you might get an approval straight away. We’re on to it, we’re working through all those requests.”
But Save Paradise Palms Association president Clive Abbott said he was concerned at the number of issues which had not been addressed.
He said, in particular, a request to recalculate a 6m buffer between a proposed tourist park and existing homes to allow for more space and development earmarked for bushland with endangered flora was concerning.
The council also queried why a conceptual tourist park, “with an approximate yield of 500 villas, caravan and camping sites” only had engineering and traffic assessments based on “approximately 200 villas and 250 caravan/camping sites”.