Resort plans move forward, but will it actually happen?

Turtle Street Beach Resort on Curtis Island will generate hundreds of jobs, but will it go ahead?

POSSIBLE: An artist's impression of the pavilion facility building at the Turtle Street Resort on Curtis Island. Picture: Chris Lees

PLANS for more projects and resorts continue to be lodged in the Gladstone region.

The question is not just when, but if they will ever be built.

The latest proposed resort chasing Federal Government approval is Turtle Street Beach Resort on Curtis Island.

American luxury-resort developer Tim Reigal is behind the project, which has been more than 40 years in the making for the region.

People can comment publicly on the project, these will be then be assessed before any approval is given by the Federal Government.

Mr Reigal said he hoped to have approval within a couple of months but was not sure if that would happen.

"We've owned the property for 41 years and I've been doing it for 31 years," he said.

Mr Reigal's family bought the site for the resort at Turtle Street on the 150-year-old Monte Christo cattle station in 1976 and since then the family has been trying to build a world-class resort.

If the long-awaited resort went ahead, plans show it would include 187 units in various configurations, resort amenities (beach centre, pools and tennis courts) and a central facility with a reception, conference facilities, shop, bar and restaurant.

It is not the only resort people and particularly workers are hanging out for.

Hummock Hill Island Resort, about 50km south-east of Gladstone, received environmental approval from the State Government in February.

There are expected to be hundreds of jobs generated from construction plus ongoing jobs at the resort.

However, people continue to question whether anything will actually be built in the region.

One project that looks slightly more likely is the proposed Station Creek Lifestyle Resort at Benaraby.

A local Mann family is behind the ambitious plan for a lifestyle resort for retirees which would be built on their land.

The Gladstone region is not the only place where resorts and redevelopments on islands have been talked up with little action.

Plans for a a resort at Lindeman Island, off the coast of Mackay, have been in place for many years, although no work has begun. Brampton Island, also off Mackay, is now derelict after it was bought by United Petroleum in 2010, despite continual talk of redevelopment plans.

Originally published as Resort plans move forward, but will it actually happen?