The Port Douglas Waterfront Plan, designed to transform the Port Douglas waterfront into an expression of the local community, was endorsed through an amendment to the Douglas Shire Planning Scheme in a unanimous Council vote on Thursday.

Mayor Val Schier said that the community and Council had worked hard together to come up with a plan that represents the town’s vision for the Dickson Inlet waterfront and preserving the iconic values of the community.

“After five years of working with the community and consultants, it is now at the stage where Council has endorsed it as an amendment to the Douglas Shire Planning Scheme,” Cr Schier said.

From here the scheme will be subject to review by the State to assess its interest in portions of the land involved in the amendment.

“Once that necessary assessment is complete the community will have more than a month to study it carefully and provide comments for refinement.”

Division 10 Cr Julia Leu said it was of the utmost importance that the plan had support from community, environmental and tourism sectors.

“We can now move ahead with the assurance that the direction of the future development has been guided by the work of the community as a whole,” Cr Leu said.

“It is particularly important because the area has been planned in a way that the essentials of the Douglas Planning Scheme have been protected, especially concerning building heights.”