Proposed $300-million Port Douglas resort development in doubt

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10.30am UPDATE: 

Douglas Shire councillors voted unanimously to reject the Fairmont Resort Port Douglas.

Developer Paul Chiodo is now expected to take the matter to the Planning and Environment Court.

EARLIER:

Plans for Queensland's first Fairmont resort are on shaky ground, with Douglas Shire Councillors urged to reject the proposed development.

Council officers have deemed the $300-million 253-room structure ‘over-scaled’ with ‘little local context or character’ which is ‘significantly non-compliant’ with a host of planning scheme requirements.

A development application for a material change of use at 71-85 Port Douglas Road was submitted to the Council more than 12 months ago by Chiodo Corporation.

It will be voted on by Councillors today.

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Work has already begun at the site to demolish the partially built Havana resort, which was abandoned more than 15 years ago after failing to secure investment.

However, Council officers are strongly recommending that Councillors knock back the proposal, which is estimated at delivering 196 ongoing jobs and injecting $203-million a year into the state economy during the construction phase alone.

“The list of non-compliances in bulk, scale, facilities provision and character render the proposal an over-development of the site, which is not able to be supported by Planning Officers,” the recommendation reads.

“The development cannot be appropriately conditioned to overcome the non-compliance.”

Both the 173-metre length of the main building and the height of up to six storeys were deemed inappropriate.

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“The proposal is not of an appropriate scale and does not achieve an attractive built form,” the recommendation reads.

Chiodo Corporation said the proposal includes several restaurants and bars, a day spa, a treetop walk and panoramic conference and wedding facilities, all located around resort-style pools and designed to blend seamlessly with nature.

It’s already been recognised for its strong environmental credentials, winning the Communities & Culture Award at the Sustainable Destinations Awards last year.

However, Council officers describe it as ‘visually dominant’ with the solution of planter boxes to keep the development in character with the area not enough.

“There are no other buildings in the Shire characterised by vegetation cover hiding their appearance,” the document reads.

“This is not considered to achieve an attractive built form.”

Council officers also had concerns with a lack of on-site parking and impacts on local traffic.

During a 15-day public consultation phase the Council received three objections to the application, none of which complied with guidelines for making submissions.

The building height, oversupply of tourism and demand on the water and sewer networks were all raised as objections.

Developer Paul Chiodo has told Tropic Now that if Councillors vote against the proposal, he will take the matter to court.

“Our site is two metres below the road,” he said.

“You won’t even see it, especially when we put all our dense landscaping in.

“We issued revised designs which involved a net loss of 30 rooms.

“We just couldn’t get feedback from the planners, they just had an attitude that no it’s not going to meet what Port Douglas should be.

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“We’re still committed to making this happen.

“We just want to be something amazing for Port Douglas.”

Mr Chiodo said the Fairmont group, which has its headquarters in France, will also be watching the outcome of the meeting.

“Paris will be live streaming this,” he said.

“It could send a bad message to the business community in terms of development in Port Douglas.”

The developer said he is willing to work with Council planners.

“It looks like we’ve got community support,” Mr Chiodo said.

“If there’s a problem with what we are proposing, work with us.

“We need to know what conditions they want.

“They made it clear they are only here to assess and not provide guidance on what they want.

“It’s really disappointing, we think we’re doing something special, and we can’t even get a seat at the table.

“This can be all resolved in a week.”