THE development of a retirement village on Ferrero Road and the introduction of a Special Entertainment Precinct in Port Douglas proved to be two key sticking points before Council voted 3-2 to approve the Douglas Shire Planning Scheme (Town Plan) at today’s Council meeting in Mossman.

And before the vote was taken, Mayor Julia Leu said if just one or two items prevented it from proceeding, it would belittle the scheme. It would also have meant going back to the drawing board, making numerous amendments and again seeking community consultation.

Councillor Michael Kerr, who has been a strong proponent of the retirement village, argued that the development should have been a feature of the planning scheme. “As this is not the case, I cannot support the scheme in its current form,” he told Council.

The proposed $60 million retirement village, to be built by Waks Developments, would see land off Ferrero Road transformed into a 160-strong villa community home to a gym, swimming pool, lush gardens, cafes and entertaining areas for people over 50.

However, Council said there is no particular zone that purely caters for a retirement village so it is not possible to zone land for a retirement village. 

“It is not good contemporary planning practice to open up land for development without the appropriate investigations that take into account the following: constraints, infrastructure servicing and capacity requirements, flooding and drainage studies and sequencing in the form of a comprehensive structure plan.
  
“The land is proposed to be included in a Residential Investigation Area in the Strategic Framework to facilitate this process. Land should not be zoned in advance of completion of this process. There is land that is already zoned within Port Douglas that can cater for retirement village purposes without the need to include the land on the western side of the Captain Cook Highway in an urban zone at this point in time.”

The rationale behind the Special Entertainment Precinct was to raise the profile of Port Douglas as a live music entertainment destination.

The submitters supported a Special Entertainment Precinct for Port Douglas and the development of a Local Law to support the Special Entertainment Precinct in order for Council to have control and management of live music in the Shire’s live entertainment venues.

In his support of the precinct, it was explained to Councillor David Carey that the introduction of a Special Entertainment Precinct – to the proposed planning scheme at this stage – would be considered a significant policy change and would result in the need to recommence public notification of the proposed planning scheme. As it was not supported, Carey voted against the planning scheme.

Of the more than 600 submissions received from the community, the retirement village and the entertainment precinct attracted the most interest.

Mayor Leu said after assessing the submissions, the Proposed Planning Scheme is to be submitted for adoption to the State Government.

“And it includes the possibility of investigating additional land available for the retirement facility and provisions for the establishment of an entertainment precinct at a later date.

“These two issues attracted the most public submissions and Council has further considered the arguments both for and against, and we believe our adopted position delivers the best outcomes for our communities,” she Leu said.

Mayor Leu said she is delighted with Scheme and the changes implemented after receiving the public’s feedback.

“We’ve cut red tape, strengthened our commitment to enhancing our unique environment and catered for the future growth and prosperity of the Douglas Shire,” she said.

Mayor Leu and Councillors Abigail Noli and Roy Zammataro voted in favour of the planning scheme. 

1. The proposed sign (Newsport) is considered a new sign;

2. The proposed new sign is an off-premises advertising device;

3. The new signage detracts from the scenic visual amenity of the landscape, in particular when viewed
from the road and having regard to the use of the road as a scenic, tourist route;

4. The new signage is considered a traffic hazard for drivers of the adjacent road;

5. The new signage is considered to adversely impact on the rural environment;

6. The new signage is inconsistent with: Rural Areas and Rural Settlements Locality Code; the Rural Planning Area Code; and the Design and Siting of Advertising Devices Code of the current Planning Scheme.

7. The new signage is incompatible with the exhibited proposed major amendment to the Planning Scheme. The new signage is considered to be incompatible development in regards to maintaining the strategic intent, protecting the unique environmental character, internationally renowned landscapes and scenic amenity of the Shire, and key transport corridors; the Rural zone and the Advertising Devices Code.

A Council spokesman said a letter will be sent to the applicant (Newsport) advising them of the decision.

“The applicant then has a certain period of time to lodge an objection to the decision. If an objection is raised, it will be determined by the courts.

“The applicant will not be requested to remove the sign until all appeals or appeal periods have been determined or lapsed,” he said.

Only Councillor Michael Kerr voted against the motion, which was supported by Mayor Julia Leu and Councillors Abigail Noli, David Carey and Roy Zammataro.

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