OPINION: Skyscrapers won't help boost Hervey Bay

TODAY is finally the day when we find out if skyscrapers will be built in Hervey Bay.

SKYSCRAPER PLANS: Details of the proposed skyscraper development in Urangan. Picture: Contributed

TODAY is finally the day when we find out if skyscrapers will be built in Hervey Bay.

As the councillors go into their meeting on Thursday, they need to ask themselves if this is what the community really wants.

Urangan residents may already be dealing with over-development and density issues along the foreshore, so I don't see how a pair of skyscrapers are going to ease these woes.

There doesn't seem to be much consensus for it, let alone a lot of support.

In fact, it's hard to find anyone who really does want a towering mass perched along one of the town's premier locations.

No less, it's another set of retirement units that will be developed on the corner of Charlton Esplanade and Boat Harbour Dr, something already in abundance in Hervey Bay.

All of this goes back to the original claim that the Fraser Coast could become another major economic hub, like the Sunshine or Gold Coast. But we have to be honest: it won't be. At least not for now.

It could take years for our region to get the kind of economic windfall that will make us a major hub like either city, and the same for places like Maryborough, Gympie, Bundaberg and the like.

And while the signs are promising now, they aren't enough to justify constructing massive buildings that affect the density, visual spectacle and character of towns.

We can justify this is all for jobs, and I'm certainly in favour of a development that will give more people the opportunity to work in an area where unemployment is through the roof.

But at some point, we have to ask ourselves whether more money warrants the sacrificing the history and character of Hervey Bay.

Whatever the outcome, councillors need to listen to the needs of the community.

They've had the opportunity for more than two years to do so, and all eyes are on them now.

Originally published as OPINION: Skyscrapers won't help boost Hervey Bay