Port $300m resort in jeopardy

THE developer of a proposed $300m luxury hotel has been left stunned after learning his Far North resort was unlikely to be approved.

The much-hyped plans for a five-star, 253-room Fairmont Port Douglas Resort hit a speed bump after Douglas Shire planners wrote to Chiodo Corp informing them the scale of the project didn’t meet the town’s planning scheme.

It has forced Paul Chiodo and the council to agree to pause a formal recommendation on the Development Application for 45 days.

Mr Chiodo said his company was willing to work with the council to iron out concerns but warned the project risked becoming another white elephant for the town.

“This is going to uber luxury and bring a level of employment to Port Douglas that could allow kids to remain in the area,” Mr Chiodo said.

“But it could also become just a standard 3.5 star hotel or just sit empty within our property portfolio for the next 20 years.

“This is Fairmont, an internationally recognised brand and they have some pretty strict brand standards.”

It comes after the stalled six-star marina redevelopment, planned by Ghassan Aboud’s Crystalbrook Collection, and controversy surrounding a planned $60m development next to Four Mile Beach.

Mr Chiodo said he received an email from Douglas Shire planners indicating that the application would not be recommended.

Douglas Shire Mayor Michael Kerr said a final decision could not be made on the initial DA until a report was formally presented to councillors.

“The developer has been notified that the application does not fit within our planning scheme,” he said.