Burnett Heads development given green light by Bundaberg Regional Council

A MAJOR $30 million beachside development featuring 487 homes, expansive parklands and five-star recreational facilities has been given the green light by a Queensland regional council.

The RV Lifestyle Village will feature 487 homes at Burnett Heads. Contributed

A MAJOR $30 million development featuring 487 homes at Burnett Heads has been given the green light by Bundaberg Regional Council.

Councillors unanimously voted in favour of approving the RV residential village, on Burnett Heads Rd, at the council’s ordinary meeting today, The Bundaberg News-Mail reports.

Councillor Steve Cooper abstained from voting after declaring a conflict of interest.

Deputy Mayor Bill Trevor, Councillor Wayne Honor and Councillor Greg Barnes, who was hospitalised on Sunday, were not present at the meeting.

RV Lifestyle Village CEO Phillip Stewart said the development project would include 363 RV-friendly homesites and 62 duplex sites, expansive parklands and five-star recreational facilities including a lagoon pool, cinema, games room and tennis courts.

The single-storey two-bedroom and three-bedroom homes were designed for accommodate of large recreational vehicles and caravans, catering to the over-50s market.

The developer, RV Lifestyle Village, is a small, family owned business with long ties to the area.

Recreational facilities are the resort will include a lagoon pool, cinema, games room and tennis courts.

Mr Stewart said Burnett Heads was the perfect choice for the project and he was already working with a local businesses to help stimulate the economy.

“We foresee that the development will create substantial construction and operational jobs, which would be a significant boost to local and regional businesses,” he said.

Council planning and development spokesman Ross Sommerfeld said there were 43 submissions from the community regarding the development, and seven issues were raised.

Cr Sommerfeld said they included flooding, traffic, positive impact on the economy, the capacity of the local infrastructure network, noise and light.

He said the issues were raised during the planning stages, and the council placed conditions on the approval to address them.

The developer says Burnett Heads is the perfect location for the Village, which is aimed at over-50s.

Before casting his vote Division 6 councillor Scott Rowleson asked if there would be ongoing investigation into the drainage over the entire Burnett Heads catchment.

Cr Sommerfeld said ongoing work would happen, but at this point in time the drainage work that had been performed for both stages had a positive impact on the adjoining areas.

He said the applicant intended to put a new channel through the property to take water away from the areas.

He said during planning stages, the developer had directly addressed areas of concern raised by members of the public including congestion to surrounding roads and drainage.

“The council and state government have imposed conditions for appropriate roadworks to ensure traffic flow will not be adversely affected by the construction of the development,” Cr Sommerfeld said.

“Engineering officers have also spent considerable time developing drainage solutions and it is considered that there will be no significant stormwater impacts.”

Two-bedroom and three-bedroom homes will be built at the Village.

He said the first stage of the development would comprise of sites for 100 homes and would contain all elements required to effectively service the development including sewerage, water, power and telecommunications services.

Mr Stewart said the Village would have a strong focus on sustainability and liveability, with each home offering substantial energy efficient features as standard.

Being in close proximity to the coast, the developers said they were committed to reducing potential light pollution from the development.

“We consulted with the Sea Turtle Alliance in the early stages of our planning to ensure we have the appropriate measures in place such as motion-sensor lights and timers on street lighting, substantial plantings to create light barriers and low-wattage LED lights, to make the village low glow,” Mr Stewart said.