Development fight over

A RESIDENTIAL project knocked back by the Townsville City Council six years ago will go ahead after a lengthy legal process.

In a sitting of the Planning and Environment Court in Townsville yesterday, Judge John Coker granted an order which will give preliminary ap- proval to the development, following lengthy negotiations between Willowbend ( NQ) Pty Ltd and the council.

The proposed Willowbend Estate development was initially slated to include 295 large residential blocks on 98ha of land located between the Bohle and Little Bohle rivers at Gumlow.

The development will now feature 364 slightly smaller lots, with the edges of the housing development also altered to be further back from the rivers.

The lots will range in size from 800sq m to 1400sq m with a large amount of green space included in the development.

The matter was taken to the courts after the council knocked back the development application in 2012, citing that it was outside the region’s urban growth boundaries.

But now both parties have reached an agreement, officially signed off in court yesterday, meaning the project can proceed to the next stage.

Willowbend managing partner Graham Wheeler said the changes made to the development were fairly minor.

“It’s been a long time in the making and we’re very pleased with the outcome,” he said.

“We’ll look to have some design works done by the end of the year with a view to be ready to meet the market.”

Mr Wheeler said he felt the development was unique because of its larger lot sizes.

“Our lots are designed to attract people with families that want that bit more space,” he said.

“We hope the blocks will appeal to owner- occupiers. “

The council’s planning and community engagement director Eber Butron said the developer and the council agreed through the mediation process some time ago.

“One of the delays with reaching this position was the time it has taken the developer and the Department of Transport and Main Roads to come to an agreement,” Mr Butron said.

Mr Butron said the mediation had produced a better outcome and the council was comfortable with the development to proceed.

“There has been a change from the original proposal of 295 lots to 350 lots but, on average, the lot size is smaller than the original proposal,” he said. “The negotiated proposal includes greater setbacks from the Bohle and Little Bohle rivers, which provides improved flood mitigation and allows for more green space and parklands.”