What you wanted and what you’re getting: Developments in Mackay and Whitsunday in 2024
We went to you, our readers, and asked what you wanted to see start development in 2024. Here’s what public projects are in the pipeline to start this year.
Mackay
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The residents of the Mackay and Whitsunday regions have made their voices heard in a recent online survey.
The survey, conducted by the Daily Mercury, Whitsundays Times and Bowen Independent, asked residents what developments they would like to see started in their communities in 2024 and the responses were overwhelming.
For Mackay the community responses called for greater access to recreation across the region, a public pool in Sarina and bringing back small businesses to the city heart.
Responses from Mackay also heavily reflected anxieties about the housing crisis and a desire for more affordable public housing.
In the Whitsundays respondents asked for more accessible recreation during summer such as a water park, shade over playgrounds and indoor entertainment such as cinemas and art galleries.
Members of the Bowen community were vocal in their advocacy for greater development at their foreshore, including an upgrade for the Bowen jetty, greater access to childcare and children's entertainment, as well as a new supermarket.
Here are some of the current and upcoming projects that aim to tackle these issues.
Mackay Region
Mirani Community Precinct
Addressing the needs of rural residents in the Proserpine Valley, the Mackay Regional Council is seeking to construct a community precinct in Mirani.
External funding is being sought to supplement the project budget before moving onto the construction phase.
Concept designs of the precinct can be viewed here.
Built around this space will be the Mirani Museum and Library, both of which will make up the cultural backbone of the new centre and represents “enormous potential for the Pioneer Valley”, according to a Mackay Regional Council spokesman.
The precinct will also feature community spaces, a youth centre and new offices for the Mackay Regional Council’s customer service, civil engineering and pest management teams.
Leading to this precinct will be the upgraded Mirani main street highlighting the central park, mango trees, the old train station and railway, bolstering the town’s distinct identity which the Mackay Regional Council believes will attract visitors, improve the standard of living for the community and demonstrate the town’s importance as a part of the Mackay region.
You can read more about this project here.
The Northern Beaches
Aimed at facilitating the growth of the Northern Beaches by providing entertainment and services, two developments are being supported by the council.
The first is the Northern Beaches community hub which, with more than $40 million invested, will provide recreation and services to the area.
The second is the Northern Beaches Bowls Club redevelopment which will benefit from council development discounts and will provide entertainment in the form of barefoot bowls, events and a mini golf course.
Woodlands District Park
Coming soon to the Beaconsfield and Andergrove areas to provide a much-needed green space and recreation area to North Mackay’s commuter suburbs is the Woodlands District Park.
The more than 21 hectare parcel incorporates 10 hectares from a pre-existing woodlands reserve.
The park will include a large, new, all-abilities playground which will be built using council funding as well as $2 million contributed by the state government.
Stage 1 of construction will include:
- A new all-abilities playground.
- A multi-purpose active track which will be suitable for all ages.
- New barbecue and picnic facilities.
- Public amenities and a Changing Places facility for the disabled community.
- Improvements to the park’s entry along Broomdykes Drive.
- Additional paths, including the start of a new north-south connection through to Caledonian Drive and the extension of the existing cross-park (east-west) link.
- Drainage and landscaping improvements including the reshaping and replanting of the open swale drain to naturalise the watercourse.
A detailed aerial walk-through of the development plan can be viewed here.
Finch Hatton Mountain Bike Trail
Part of a much larger $27 million Pioneer Valley bike trails project, the Finch Hatton Mountain Bike Trail will be completed and open to the public from early 2024.
The 14.5 kilometres that make up the Finch Hatton trail will be opened this year, while stage two of the project will build a further 82 kilometres of track connecting Finch Hatton to Eungella.
The completed network will be up to international standard and will provide entertainment and recreation opportunities for the Mackay region, as well as attracting sporting tourists and sports events.
Stage two has entered its planning and development stage. You can read more about it here.
Sarina Eco Village
In response to the housing shortage, which a council spokesman has stated that “this is a state issue”, Mayor Greg Williamson has said, “We’re pulling every lever we can”, in regards to approving developments that can meet Mackay’s affordable housing needs.
This includes speeding up the approval process for new housing developments and providing discounts on infrastructure charges.
One of the developments set to benefit from these policies is the Sarina Beach Eco Village.
The housing, tourism and retail development is planned to create an entirely new suburb at Sarina Beach, which will provide short-term housing and accommodation for tourists, while also creating the space for hundreds of new homes.
Furthermore, the development could also demonstrate a greater demand for public transport in the area and help bring a bus service to Sarina Beach.
The Whitsundays and Bowen
The Whitsundays and Bowen region have a number of development proposals tabled for approval in 2024 that will meet some of the area’s amenity and entertainment demands.
These include a proposal for an Aldi at Cannonvale, the Whitsunday Skyway and several new childcare centres.
The state government will also be working with the council to inject millions of dollars into public spaces and emergency services.
In 2023-24 the Queensland government will deliver a $623.4 million capital works program in the Greater Whitsunday region, directly supporting more than 2100 jobs.
Whitsunday Islands Ngaro Walking Track upgrade
Construction will start this year on an upgrade to the Ngaro Walking Track.
Out of a $5.7 million total spend, $3.9 million will be spent in 2024 upgrading the pathways, adding boardwalks and creating campsites.
This is part of a greater investment scheme in the works with both state and federal levels of government to promote eco-tourism in World Heritage areas like the Whitsundays.
Airlie Beach auxiliary fire and rescue station
In 2024 the first stages of construction to replace the current auxiliary fire and rescue station will begin.
More than $2 million will be committed in 2024 to the project, with a further $6.6 million available as development progresses.
Proserpine and Bowen hospitals
Proserpine and Bowen hospitals will receive upgrades, particularly to their renal services as part of the state-funded Rural and Regional Renal program.
Proserpine Hospital will receive $4.4 million in 2024, with another $3.5 million coming in the next few years towards the refurbishments of their clinical assessment rooms, management offices, primary care clinic and training areas.
Bowen Hospital will receive $11.9 million later in development, but is starting with $636,060 in 2024 to improve patient flow, primary health care, refurbishments of existing wards and two new chairs for renal treatment, before undergoing more renovations.
Proserpine State High school
Proserpine State High School will receive an additional $808,000 to construct more specialist classrooms in 2024.
This comes after a previous infrastructure investment of more than $18 million in 2020 and seeks to continue expanding the school’s facilities to better accommodate the needs of Proserpine’s youth.
Bowen Jetty
The Bowen Jetty and foreshore were at the forefront of the calls for development from the people responding to our post in Bowen.
The heritage-listed jetty will receive $50 million in funding for refurbishments, mostly from coal royalties.
The aim of this refurbishment is to provide recreation and encourage foreshore development, while preserving Bowen’s history.
What’s been missed
Currently there are no publicly funded plans to develop more indoor entertainment in the Whitsundays, and there have been no new water park developments announced for any area in the Mackay Whitsunday region.
Councillor Karen May, a former advocate for the Sarina pool, described the process of securing funds for the operation and development of these spaces as “difficult”.
She attributed this difficulty to the amalgamation of shires and competing priorities regarding council funding.
Have we missed anything?
What developments do you want to see next in the Mackay and Whitsundays region?
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