Whitsunday Regional Council approves Stone Island development
A suite of tropical villas on an island off Bowen’s coast in the Whitsundays is one step closer to fruition as a development application gets the green light. DETAILS, PLANS.
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Plans for new accommodation on an island off Bowen’s coast in the Whitsundays are one step closer to fruition as a new development application gets the green light.
The proposal centres on an extension to Stone Island Resort and includes 18 new detached resort villas as well as provision for a new food and drink outlet on the north end of the island.
The villas would be located south of the existing resort and look west to Bowen and there will also be renovations of the existing resort including 3-star accommodation, a beach club, restaurant and bars.
Documents state villa guests will have access to recreation activities like snorkelling and diving as well as hiking trails to the “navigation beacon at Sinclair Head”, with Stone Island one of the first in the Whitsundays operating as a resort back in the 1970s.
Access to the island is via boat, typically from Bowen.
However Stone Island Holdings, who is the developer, has already approached the council for support to build a tramway drive station on land near Flagstaff Hill Conference Centre in Bowen to service a 2km aerial tramway connecting Stone Island with the mainland.
It is then proposed movement on the island will be limited to personal devices such as e-bikes and e-scooters as well as resort service vehicles which are golf buggies.
There will be no cars on the island, therefore, no roads or car parks with exception to an unsealed, movement network formed similar to a bush track.
SIH applied to WRC back in 2022 to build the short-term accommodation.
As it stands SIH has not nominated the mainland carparking area for guests and day visitors to Stone Island and further details, including a carparking management plan, will be required to be submitted to the council at development permit stage.
This application does not involve any subdivision of any part of Stone Island.
The development is expected to cost about $10 million and will generate about 25 jobs once operational.
WRC councillors voted 6-0 to approve the new villas and food and drink outlet at their ordinary meeting on Wednesday.
Council agenda documents stated had they not approved the development, there was a risk the decision may have been appealed in the Planning and Environment Court.
The vote comes a day after news broke South Molle Island was back on the market for more than $30m.
China Capital Investment Group, which also owns Daydream Island Resort and Spa, bought South Molle in 2019 for $25m and then paid an extra $10m to upgrade the jetty.
South Molle’s resort was destroyed in Cyclone Debbie in 2017.
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