Moore Park development set to begin taking shape

A major new 84-home development at Moore Park Beach is about to get underway and while some believe it’s much-needed progress, others are worried. VIDEO.

Work is set to begin on a new housing estate at Moore Park Beach where 84 new residential lots will be sold over five stages.

The Melaleuca Sands development is set to be placed adjacent to the main shopping hub in Moore Park including the tavern and IGA.

It‘s a new development some local stakeholders have described as “fantastic” news for the region and Moore Park’s growth, while environmental group Landcare has raised concerns around the loss of natural habitat.

Speaking to the Bundaberg NewsMail, Moore Park real estate agent Dale Clarey said the development had full approval and was ready to get going.

Dale Clarey says a lot of objection comes from big city greenies with little idea of the realities of life in the regions.

Having worked in real estate in the Moore Park region since the 80s, Mr Clarey said he had been involved in the construction of “hundreds and hundreds of houses”.

“With this development, the location of it is particularly good,” he said.

“It goes all the way through to the beachfront”.

Mr Clarey said there was very little land left to develop which still had coastal frontage, and all necessary approvals were already in place with bulldozers at the ready.

“The reality is that the 84-lot of subdivisions has full approval and there‘s no right of rejection from anybody,” he said.

“Nobody can come in and stop anything.”

Mr Clarey said people often had concerns around the natural habitat in the area, but those concerns only existed because developments in Moore Park had been “responsible” in keeping green spaces.

“Moore Park is one of the few places in Queensland where you have to clear trees to build a house,” he said.

“If it was like any other development anywhere else it would just be like a billiard table.”

An expressions of interest sign sits in the background of some of the area’s native fruit trees.

Mr Clarey said the development was a “massive step” for Moore Park and the Bundaberg region, adding there was possibly scope for a hotel, Woolworths or even a McDonald‘s in the coastal township.

“It‘s definitely happening and it’s going to be developed,” he said.

Mr Clarey said people came to the Moore Park area for its trees and more than 30 per cent of the land would be dedicated to nature corridors, with large 1200-1500sq m house blocks.

A real estate agent overseeing the development says development at Moore Park Beach has always been “responsible” and has taken green spaces into account.

Many local residents polled by the NewsMail said they had no issue with the development going ahead, adding their homes had also once been bushland.

One couple, who had lived in Moore Park for 25 years, said that the township needed progress and many southerners had descended upon the community in recent times.

They also felt clearing some bushland could mitigate fire risks.

Another resident, who had just moved to the region, said she was comfortable with the development, but did have some concerns about potential flooding.

A long-term local also said he saw no problem with it as long as developers were able to mitigate the wetness of the soil.

Not all people in the community however, were for the big change.

Birds fly above trees at the proposed development site.

Bundaberg Landcare president Mike Johnson despaired at the “terrible loss of vegetation” and said the country was in the grips of a climate emergency, believing there was only eight years left to remedy the earth‘s situation before it become incurable.

“A lot of environmentally minded people have moved to Moore Park,” he said.

The location of the proposed development, Mr Johnson said, intersected with flood mapping that put the area at potential risk in case of an extreme flooding event.

He pointed out an “eaten away” creek that now went out an extra 100m compared to when he was a child.

“If you get a cyclone, it‘s going to be covered. Who approved this?” he said.

“Would you like to own a house there? I wouldn‘t.

“One centimetre of ocean rise takes one metre of land.

“Aren’t we supposed to put safeguards in place in 2022?”

Mr Johnson said such projects were “always a loss for the environment”.

“People from down south come here and they have no idea,” he said.

Mike Johnson from Landcare (pictured in a different forest) says he is gravely concerned about the loss of natural habitat as well as the risk of storms and cyclones.

“You‘d never want to see a Category 4 or 5 on this coast.”

Council documents reveal the Melaleuca Sands development went before three different councils since first being mooted, including the Burnett Shire, Goodburrum Shire and ultimately the amalgamated Bundaberg Regional Council.

Minutes from an ordinary council meeting in 2017 show discussion around the Moore Park Road and Gengers Road development with a plan for the subdivision of two lots that appeared to be Bundaberg Sugar land into 84 over five stages.

Bundaberg Regional Council Group manager development Michael Ellery said matters related to the suitability of the site for housing had been through the assessment stage before being approved.

“The total area of the land subject to the application was approximately 255 hectares however the approval only allowed development on five per cent of the site, or a total area of 13.6 hectares,” he said.

“The remaining 95 per cent of the site is to be retained in its current form and is protected from further urban development.

“Matters relating to coastal hazards and protected vegetation were considered by the relevant State Government agencies as part of its assessment.”

Mr Ellery said both the Department of Environment and Heritage, and the Department of Natural Resources and Mines approved the proposal subject to conditions.

These included treatment of stormwater run-off before discharge to natural waterways, implementation of erosion and sediment control measures during construction, limiting vegetation clearing to the area approved for the development and dedicating substantial tracts of land along the foreshore to the Crown for environmental reserve purposes.

A diagram from the planning approval in 2017 showing the subdivision of two blocks into 84.

He also said coastal hazards were taken into consideration, and “the majority of the proposed lots are located outside of the current storm tide inundation area which includes consideration of climate change”.

“A small number of lots located within the fringe of the storm tide inundation area require a small amount of fill to achieve flood free building pads to ensure any future dwellings are located above the required riverine and coastal inundation levels,” he said.

Mr Clarey said developments had to go through a lot of red tape to get approval, adding that he believed the entire area was fit for development and fully approved 15 years ago.

The agent said he believed it was a matter of town plans not being updated over successive councils.

He believed the struggle with building developments was because of “university educated greenies in town planning” and a lot of complaints made by ”idiots in Brisbane”, looking at Google Maps.

“You‘re allowed to clear land,” he said.

“(The development) is a tremendously good thing.

“Moore Park is a very sought-after location.”

Works are set to begin soon on developing the 250ha estate, which will feature town power, sealed roads and, according to the listing, the ability to “explore the eco-possibilities”.