Plans for unit complex

Council to consider development at Forest Gardens

A TIGHTLY-PACKED Cairns suburb is getting the squeeze from developers planning to demolish a former housing estate sales centre to make way for a 20-unit apartment complex.

Dixon Homes managing director Andrew Thomas wants to build a three-storey unit block at the entrance to Forest Gardens – a site occupied by a low-set Queenslander-style building constructed in 1995 as the

Delfin sales office for the estate.

The 2341sq m property at Lago Crescent backing onto the Forest Gardens lake is zoned as a local centre, meaning it is supposed to “provide for a limited range of retail, commercial and community activities to service local needs”.

This morning’s Cairns Regional Council meeting will have to decide whether to rezone the land to allow the higher-density development to go ahead. Approval has been recommended, with a report by council officers stating the apartment complex would not affect the function of the local centre as a whole.

“The surrounding area also contains other land within the local centre zone, which contain a shopping centre (including small-scale retail and food and drink offerings), child care centre, health care facilities and pharmacy,” it states.

The proposal is code-assessable and therefore was not open for public consultation.

But 10 neighbours felt passionate enough to submit written objections regardless.

Luigi and Theresa Short argued there was no need to “just dump another housing complex with little pre-planned amenities”.

Nicole Cecchin and Andrew Lane believed the development would promote loitering at the park.

“Please keep the aesthetics of Forest Gardens as per its original intentions,” they submitted.

“It is a beautiful leafy suburb with great trees for shade around the parks and pond for young families to utilise.

“Building an ugly concrete block of units will spoil the uniqueness of this beautiful park.”

The proposed development comprises two separate buildings with a semi-basement carpark.

IT IS A BEAUTIFUL LEAFY SUBURB ... BUILDING AN UGLY CONCRETE BLOCK OF UNITS WILL SPOIL THE UNIQUENESS OF THIS BEAUTIFUL PARK. FOREST GARDENS RESIDENTS NICOLE CECCHIN AND ANDREW LANE