Draft masterplan unveiled for Great Keppel Island redevelopment
After two years of community consultation, a 129-page draft masterplan has been unveiled to become the blueprint for the vision of Great Keppel Island. See what’s included.
Rockhampton
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A jetty, gateway plaza, visitor and reef centre, shade, toilets, boardwalks have all been outlined in the draft masterplan for the Woppa (Great Keppel Island) redevelopment.
Potential developments also include Fisherman’s beach resort(s), Woppa tourist park, Woppa village centre, forest eco retreat, Leeke’s Homestead eco precinct and Clam Bay eco resort.
The Great Keppel Island Master Plan Project began in July 2021 and the draft masterplan has been compiled following consultation with the community and stakeholders, including the traditional owners the Woppaburra people, business operators, Livingstone Shire Council and the community project reference group.
The 129-page document goes into great detail about the consultation, challenges of the island, Wapabara (Woppaburra) cultural heritage, the masterplan concept, projects, conservation management and priorities.
A long-time request from tourism operators, a jetty is outlined with potential locations to include the northern end and centre of Fisherman’s Beach and Putney Beach.
The final location will be determined through technical studies.
Shade and multiple public amenities sites are also outlined for the island access areas as well as a central main access to the island including minimal road access, pedestrian access, boardwalks to allow guests to walk to their accommodation.
The gateway plaza would be located adjacent to The Spit and will have a large gathering lawn and ‘Welcome to Country’ space and visitor centre with public amenities, equipment hire and pick up/drop off point.
A second plaza will be located at the heart of Fisherman’s Esplanade, to be the “village heart”, and will include retail, beach bar, beachfront accommodation, beach umbrellas, beach bar and food and amenities.
Another key focus area is boardwalk upgrades to existing tracks, along with boardwalks to Leeke’s Beach, Shelving Beach, Monkey Beach and Long Beach and lookouts with viewing platforms over wetlands and Leeke’s Beach.
The development is to be focused on the western side of the island, leaving the eastern side to be mostly untouched.
A cultural and keeping centre has been identified to include storytelling of the island’s history, and appropriate training of staff on the island to tell the story and traditional owner-led business and tourism operators.
Educational experiences could be built in or around Leeke’s Homestead, with glamping sites, boardwalks, eco accommodations with group lodges and cabin, signage and a native nursery.
Key infrastructure is a main focus of the plan, including a new sewage treatment plant and for water, a solar-powered desalination plant to provide more suitable drinking water as water is collected currently through bore and rainwater and consideration of a new waste transfer station, recycling compactor bins and a central 10c collection facility for recyclable containers.
The immediate priorities of the masterplan to be completed as soon as possible in the next two years include Fishermen’s Beach hub works with amenities, showers, shade, BBQs, bins, beach matting, Gateway Plaza works, boardwalks and removable temporary barge to allow for construction access.
TOWER HOLDINGS LEASES
The Queensland government revoked property developer Tower Holdings of their 970ha leases for the GKI Resort in April after failure to pay more than $800,000 in rent.
Acting Premier, State Development and Planning Minister Steven Miles flew in to Rockhampton on Monday to announce the release of the master plan and when asked about the unpaid rent declined to comment on the amount.
At the time the leases were revoked, there was discussion over whether the state government would split the leases into lots, to allow for smaller projects to get off the ground as they would be more viable and not as expensive for private stakeholders.
Mr Miles it would allow for the island redevelopment to no longer “harnessed to a single developer”.
The draft masterplan now includes that possibility of dividing those former Tower Holdings resort leases into small lots.
“That decisive action the state government took to take those leases back gives us even greater flexibility, greater ability to implement this masterplan,” he said.
Keppel MP Brittany Lauga said there has been a “flurry of interest” after the leases were returned to the state government
“There has been a flood of interest from right around the world, reputable investors and people who are interested in the future of the island, working with the Traditional owners and the local community,” she said.
“The recent return of the old resort leases to the Queensland Government opens new opportunities to redevelop GKI and we’ll be making the most of them.”
WHO WILL CLEAN UP THE MESS
The old resort closed in 2008 and has sat abandoned over the last 15 years, vandalised, graffitied and an eyesore to the public.
There is now a question of who will clean up the mess.
Keppel MP Brittany Lauga has been vocal Tower Holdings are still responsible for that.
“They were the leaseholder for many years, they had the responsibility to clean up the island as part of their lease conditions, and I’ve been guaranteed by the government that every power possible will be used to make sure Tower Holdings is held to that.”
GOVERNMENT FUNDING
The Queensland Government committed $25 million towards common-user infrastructure on the island in 2017, topped up to $30 million.
None of that money will be allowed to be used for the clean-up of the old resort.
Mr Miles said the draft masterplan will now allow the state government to determine what is the “best priority” to spend the money on.
GOVERNMENT UNVEIL MASTERPLAN
Ms Lauga congratulated all of those who worked on the draft masterplan and said the redevelopment project is set to “bring private sector investment back to the region and unlock new economic opportunities”.
“For many years we have seen a revolving door of investors and developers setting out what their vision for the island is but this is the first time that the community has been able to work together to come up with our own vision, that we have own, we have done today and set the vision for the future,” she said.
“Importantly, it will support construction and tourism jobs in Central Queensland, with flow-on benefits across the supply chain,” she said.
“We have worked closely with the whole community to reach this point, with a master plan that reflects the community’s aspirations for the island’s future.”
Mr Miles said the draft master plan will be the “blueprint to breathe new life into the jewel of the Capricorn Coast and make this one of the biggest tourism drawcards in Australia”.
“It outlines options for new tourism developments and priority infrastructure needed to restore the island to its former glory and attract domestic and international visitors,” he said.
NEXT STEPS
The draft masterplan will be open for community feedback for six weeks and will close on August 21.
View the draft masterplan document here.
The feedback will shape the final master plan which is to be adopted in October 2023.
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