Fury at Chinese developer’s plan for 64-room ‘wellness centre’ in lush Cairns headland suburb

Residents of a quiet coastal suburb are furious about a Chinese developer’s plans to clear native bushland to build a massive “seven-star” resort.

Residents of a quiet coastal suburb in far north Queensland are furious about a Chinese developer’s plans to clear native bushland to build a massive “seven-star” resort, complete with luxury facilities and restaurants exclusively for wealthy guests flown in from overseas.

New Land Cairns Pty Ltd lodged a development application with Cairns Regional Council in May 2020 for the 64-room “Chinese Wellness Centre” located on Buckley Street in Yorkeys Knob, a lush beachside suburb north of the city.

The resort, which will feature two restaurants, three spa treatment rooms, a gym and 37 on-street car spaces, is expected to receive 17,820 guests a year paying $1000 per night, equating to $17.28 million in annual revenue.

“Both the Western and Chinese restaurants will cater solely for guests and their external guests and is not proposed to be open to the general public,” the proposal states.

“Guests utilising the Wellness Centre will be predominantly interstate and overseas visitors … [and] are unlikely to travel outside the facility during their stay thus as all services (restaurant/in-house chef, therapy facilities, day spa, gym, etc.) are provided on site.”

The proposed Wellness Centre in Yorkeys Knob. Picture: Cairns Regional Council

The 1.16-hectare parcel of land, located on a picturesque hillside overlooking Half Moon Bay, is currently empty save for a single derelict house.

New Land Group, which owns health resorts in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and China, describes the project as combining “Chinese traditional healing culture with the international healing vacation management model” to create a “seven-star service site with seven healing programmes and seven cultivation programmes”.

The proposal says the Yorkeys Knob centre will “create jobs for local people” and support regional tourism.

“It will provide an excellent platform for the people of Australia and China to carry forward the communication of Chinese cuisine technology in cultural exchange, enable the Australian people to learn more about multiculture, and increase opportunities to learn more about the local conditions and customs of Australia, whilst enjoying the beautiful scenery,” it says.

The application sparked hundreds of submissions opposing the project in the low-density residential area, and residents have expressed disbelief at Cairns Regional Council granting the developers nine extensions of time to provide more information despite the overwhelming public anger.

Locals have furiously opposed the plan. Picture: Cairns Regional Council

A community meeting was held on Tuesday night to discuss the ongoing controversy.

Council issued a notice of intention to refuse in November 2021, citing “critical non compliances with relevant planning scheme provisions”, but then granted four extensions of time before the developer responded in September 2022.

The developer has been asked for additional information on issues including parking availability, landslide risk, vegetation assessment and tree preservation, with council unsatisfied with the responses provided to date.

Yorkeys Knob Residents Association spokesman Adrian Gover told The Cairns Post on Tuesday that residents were suspicious of council, which has said in publicly available documents that “council officers are largely supportive of the proposed land use” despite being provided insufficient information to give the green light.

“How can they say they support it when they don’t have all the information? It is really questionable,” Mr Gover told the newspaper.

“There is an absolute hatred of this, it’s gone on and on and nothing has changed, they keep granting the developer extensions and the community has no say at all. There is a real mistrust of council over the handling of this, the community is being treated like crap. It is zoned low-density residential, the developers should have to bend over backwards to justify it, but the community is fighting tooth and nail.”

‘There is an absolute hatred of this.’ Picture: Cairns Regional Council

More than 50 documents relating to the proposal are on the council’s website, including 15 batches of submissions from locals overwhelmingly opposed.

Residents argue the self-contained development will lead to the loss of flora and fauna, create traffic and parking issues and offer minimal benefit to the local economy.

“[The site is] in the last remaining green headland in far north Queensland, in an area the state government has designated as an essential habitat for endangered and vulnerable species,” one woman wrote.

“The centre requires the excavation of native vegetation. This will adversely affect the landscape and natural terrain and have a negative effect on the ecosystem of the region. Tree clearing is rampant in Queensland — it is the worst state for deforestation.”

Another woman said, “The facility will not be for public use nor will it bring any benefit to the community. Its guests will not be mingling in the community, using public facilities or spending money in local shops, cafes and restaurants.”

One local couple said they could “not believe that this proposal has even got this far — the purchaser has bought themselves a residential block of land [and] that should be the end of it”.

The site was sold in 2018 for $2.1 million. Picture: Cairns Regional Council

Many raised concerns about foreign ownership.

“To allow foreign investors to destroy yet another tropical rainforest whilst contributing very little our community or our region is a disgrace on Council,” one man wrote.

“This situation has now dragged out for years with the Council clearly favouring the foreign investor over the [views], opinions and lifestyles of the local residents.”

Another woman wrote, “To allow the destruction of such a unique natural asset for the Cairns community and for our wildlife by a foreign‐owned company to generate profits for overseas investors is absolutely not in line with community expectations.”

A spokesman for Cairns Regional Council confirmed that “in accordance with the development application process, applicants can request extra time to obtain additional technical advice in order to respond to matters raised by Council officers”.

“Nine extensions have been provided,” he said. “It is not unusual for extensions to be provided, and as this is a significant development proposal, careful consideration of all relevant information is needed to ensure an appropriate outcome.”

Property records show the “exceptionally private and magnificent” headland site was sold to New Land Group in 2018 for $2.1 million, after going on the market for the first time since 1951.

“Positioned overlooking the Half Moon Bay beach, there is nothing which separates you from the northern ocean aspect capturing Double Island, Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation,” the listing by Colliers International said.

“Just 10 minutes north of the Cairns International Airport this delightful northern beachside suburb has everything to offer — patrolled beaches, restaurants, shopping, a world-class marina and golf course.”

New Land Group and Cairns Regional Council have been contacted for comment.

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