Project hardly a sporting chance

A PROPOSED water park on the northern beaches will likely never go ahead, according to a leading Cairns town planner.

Planz Town Planning’s Nikki Huddy also expressed concerns that plans for the Paradise Palms golf course redevelopment at Kewarra Beach would destroy “valuable and critical” sport and recreation-zoned land without considering the future needs of the community.

“Our sound bite for the project is right use, wrong location,” she said.

“The site provides a significant resource for the northern beaches area, not just locally to the existing Paradise Palms community. The proposed development represents a significant loss of valuable sport and recreation-zoned land.

“We support high density on the northern beaches but not in this location. We support it in places like Smithfield where residents can walk to the cinemas and shops and the bus stop.

“But as the city grows, the preservation of sport and recreation land is critical.”

Cairns Regional Council this month issued a letter to PPNQ Pty Ltd outlining a number of inconsistencies with the company’s development application for the Paradise Palms site.

Ms Huddy said a golf course was the best use of the space, but also supporting any other recreational use. She also questioned the lack of feasibility studies in relation to the proposed waterslide.

“That stuff is fodder to lull people into a false sense of security, but we don’t expect it to go ahead,” Ms Huddy said.

“The proposed development conflicts with the outcomes sought for the region’s tourism economy, in that the development of the site will result in the loss of the golf course, which is a world-class sporting facility that attracts a specific sector in the tourism market.

“Cairns does not have another golfing facility to this standard.”

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