Valerie Ave residents’ fears over trucks for Palmer Coolum Resort works

Residents fear for their children and their pets as a quiet cul-de-sac is used by trucks entering and exiting the Palmer Coolum Resort during a $100m refurbishment.

Resident Beake Bertram-Toft became emotional when talking about what she described as over-development on the Sunshine Coast. Picture: Patrick Woods.

Residents of a leafy Sunshine Coast cul-de-sac fear a child could be hit by the trucks using their street to enter and exit Clive Palmer’s luxury resort which is undergoing a major refurbishment.

Mr Palmer’s Palmer Coolum Resort in Yaroomba is undergoing a $100m refurbishment following its closure in 2015.

But residents of nearby Valerie Ave say the construction work has “shattered” their peace, with trucks using what was once only a service entry for the resort at the end of their quiet cul-de-sac.

Beake Bertram-Toft said she bought her home 13 years ago, shortly after the resort entrance at the end of the cul-de-sac was opened by former owners, the Hyatt.

She said an “invitation” was extended to residents to use the cafes and shops and they could cut through the resort to go to the beach.

Valerie Ave residents are upset about the trucks using the entrance to the Palmer Coolum Resort at the end of their street. Picture: Patrick Woods.

“That was amazing, it was so peaceful then,” she said.

After taking over the venue that hosted 11 PGA golf tournaments and events such as the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Mr Palmer closed the resort in 2015.

Clive Palmer closed the Yaroomba resort in 2015. Picture: Dan Peled

Ms Bertram-Toft said when refurbishment work started, the neighbourhood went from a peaceful place where children could safely play on the street to having “huge” trucks with big machinery on the back “that hardly fit on the street” using the cul-de-sac.

“When we have asked them to slow down, some drivers are very nice, most don’t seem to really slow down at all and some are really quite rude when you ask them to slow down,” Ms Bertram-Toft said.

The work to the resort would include replicas of the Wonders of the World including a full-size Trevi Fountain.

More than 300 studio, two, and three-bedroom apartments would be completely refurbished in the upgrade, which would also feature seven restaurants and the renovation of the village square.

Valerie Ave resident Beake Bertram-Toft is worried about the trucks using the cul-de-sac to enter and exit the Palmer Coolum Resort. Picture: Patrick Woods.

Ms Bertram-Toft said there was no one to turn to for information or a point of contact to talk to about the issue.

“They don’t just come down our street obviously, they come past Warrack St park, which is a popular park,” Ms Bertram-Toft said.

The resident said she tried to talk to the resort when the work started but did not receive much information.

Ms Bertram-Toft became emotional when she spoke of her fears of overdevelopment on the Sunshine Coast.

Beake Bertram-Toft became emotional when she spoke of her fears of overdevelopment on the Sunshine Coast. Picture: Patrick Woods.

“I have two young children, what are they going to find if we don’t make a change now,” she said.

Fellow resident Maria Warren has lived in the street for eight years and she said the situation was an “accident waiting to happen” with either a child or someone’s pet.

She said she had noticed trucks speeding down the street and they also idled outside the houses.

The entry point the trucks are using at the end of Valerie Av. Picture: Patrick Woods.

“The speed they are going up and down is dangerous for animals, for the children who play on the street, it’s not really pleasant,” Ms Warren said.

Ms Warren said she had complained to the Sunshine Coast Council twice in about three years and had been told there was nothing it could do.

Another resident, who did not want to be named and who has lived in the street for more than 20 years, said she had a close call exiting her driveway on July 10.

“Someone is going to have a head-on,” she said.

A spokesman for the resort said work would be completed as soon as possible.

“We haven’t had a complaint on the issue,” he said.

A council spokesperson said service vehicle access from Valerie Ave to the resort was consistent with existing approvals for the site.

They said the number of construction and service vehicles using the access was expected to reduce once refurbishment works were completed.

“Council will investigate any complaints received from concerned residents and where necessary, seek the owner to address any activities that are inconsistent with current approvals,” they said.