Clock ‘stopped’ on $130m Coast development decision
The company behind a proposed $130 million retirement resort and golf club redevelopment has “stopped the clock” on the assessment process.
Business
Don't miss out on the headlines from Business. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The company behind a proposed $130 million retirement resort and golf club redevelopment has "stopped the clock" on the assessment process.
It means a recommended Noosa Council planning department refusal for GemLife's Myall St redevelopment will not be decided at a special council meeting on Thursday.
Wave of support for Cooroy development
Cooroy residential retail wins tick of approval
Innovative Planning Solutions consultant James Brownsworth said GemLife would be seeking a final debate and vote at the council's March ordinary meeting.
"The reason for the deferral is to simply allow more time to communicate with the decision makers to respond to the officer report," Mr Brownsworth said.
He said with the planning report only becoming publicly available last Friday and GemLife wanted a bigger engagement window of opportunity to make councillors and the community fully aware of the project's benefits.
Mr Brownsworth said more than 740 jobs would be created through construction jobs on the site at the golf club and the ongoing operation of the retirement village.
Pending final planning approval, GemLife has committed about $8 million for golf club upgrades as well as free golf club membership for each of the proposed 246 retirement households for 10 years.
GemLife is also offering to build a new golf clubhouse with function room, a new carpark and redesign and upgrade nine holes of the course.
The company would also provide a 40-buggy shed to enable it to host corporate golf days for a club that is struggling to retain membership.
Mr Brownsworth said the golf club would continue to exercise full control over the club.
"GemLife will have no financial control, no direction over the golf club itself," he said.
Mr Brownsworth said the company had demonstrated through its submissions to the council that there was a strong economic and needs-based case for the retirement resort to proceed as a stand-alone facility separate to the golf club.
"If you're going to fill that (aged care and housing) gap I can't think of too many better sites in Noosa Shire where you can do it," he said.
Cooroy Golf Club secretary Andrew Dick said GemLife's support was needed to help arrest declining club membership.
"The advantage of this for the golf club is that at the moment we are just pottering along," Mr Dick said.
"It just provides another avenue of revenue for our club."
The council officers' grounds for refusal related to "significant conflict with the planning scheme".
The council refusal report said the development would result in high density residential development outside of the urban growth boundary and had not "demonstrated that there is a planning need for the proposed development".
How ‘dumb luck’ launched a $1 trillion opportunity
Stonepeak founder Mike Dorrell was in the right place at the right time. But the highly sought after fund manager is rewriting the rules on infrastructure.
Music fest, 100km run: Participants set to swelter as events ramp up
With a scorching 34 degrees forecast and a chance of rain predicted, people going to the much-loved Big Pineapple festival and athletes competing in the Blackall100 should prepare for anything.
Can Nine really change its shocking ways?
There is little confidence the same board that fundamentally allowed an appalling corporate culture and poor leadership to thrive, can also fix it.
Battle lines drawn over TAFE, safety upgrades for roads pitched
With less than two weeks to go before election day, Labor has drawn line in the sand over the Nambour TAFE while the LNP goes on the attack about roads in Cooroy and Palmwoods.
Developer set for court clash with council over supermarket rejection
A developer will take Sunshine Coast council to court after his application to build a suburb’s first supermarket was rejected despite desperate pleas from residents to give it the tick.
WiseTech’s board confronts tough choices with White
The billionaire founder of WiseTech Global, Richard White, has the backing of his board but there are active discussions about the chief executive taking leave from the tech major.