WHAT WE KNOW:
- Under the revised plan, the resort will hold 2700 and there will be no boat ramp.
- The resort will cost $950 million
- Construction will flood the Gladstone region with 3200 jobs, down from 3500 in the initial plan
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UPDATE 2.15pm:
EXCITEMENT is growing for the $950M planned resort 30km south of Gladstone, that's tipped to give a boost to tourism and jobs.
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The project includes resort hotels, holiday units, camping grounds, residential housing, a golf course, private airstrip, shops and village precincts.
Today The Observer revealed the project has completed the Environmental Impact Statement stage, which was approved pending 27 recommendations made by the coordinator general.
The project includes upgrades to roads and infrastructure in Gladstone and Turkey Beach to help accommodate the influx of tourists.
The infrastructure upgrades which are in stage one of the project include:
- An upgrade to the intersection of Bruce Hwy and Turkey Beach Rd.
- An upgrade to the access road from Foreshores Road to Boyne Creek
- Construction of the Boyne Creek Bridge
- Construction of the water desalination plant, seawater intake and evaporation ponds
- Installation of power supply for the development.
According to the EIS, it's expected stage one to take about three to four years.
Stage two will deliver the remaining tourism, community, residential and retail components of the $950 million project.
The Island has previously been used for cattle grazing and is a patchwork of cleared land, regrowth vegetation and intact remnant vegetation.
UPDATE 1.35pm:
MINOR changes to the plans to build a $950 million resort in the Gladstone region have been recommended in an Environmental Impact Statement.
The coordinator general made 27 recommendations in the EIS to reduce the resort's effect on the natural surroundings on Hummock Hill Island.
MASSIVE RESORT'S ROAD TO APPROVAL |
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The recommendations include a smaller development area and omitting one of the two boat ramps and the waste transfer station.
The project development site will be 53 hectares smaller to increase the conservation estate.
This means the project will have a reduction in tourist accommodation from 2800 to 2700 people.
Coordinator general Barry Broe also recommended the inclusion of an Ecological Design Centre and a native plant nursery. These included a smaller resort, ommitting a boat ramp and desalination plant and
"The changes to the project are proposed to be facilitated through a revised precinct plan, master plan and plan of development for the project that the proponent will submit to GRC for approval," Mr Broe wrote in the report.
To read all of the recommendations, click here
Earlier 12.30pm:
A PLANNED $950 million mega-resort in the Gladstone region has achieved a major project milestone with another approval under its belt.
Pacificus Tourism Project's Hummock Hill Resort environmental impact statement has been returned from the coordinator general with recommendations.
The resort is tipped to give a major boost to tourism and jobs in the Gladstone region.
The planned resort is on Hummock Hill Island, 30km south-east of the city.
In a 123-page report, coordinator general Barry Broe gave 27 recommendations for the project.
"Accordingly, I approve the changes to the project," Mr Broe said.
"I consider that the changes to the project and the amended conditions stated in this report would result in acceptable overall outcomes of the project's delivery.
"To proceed further the proponent will be required to obtain the relevant document approvals."
Previously The Observer reported construction of the resort would bring an average of 190 jobs on the island each year during the span of the work, totalling 3200 jobs.
The EIS stated the work would be done in two phases, over 17 years.
Across the state, the project is expected to create a whopping 4700 jobs indirectly, with an average of 260 jobs each year and a peak of 510.
Once completed it's also expected to pour $95 million in tourism expenditure into the local region, each year.
The EIS states to go ahead the resort still needs approval from the Gladstone Regional Council and some Government departments, with the new recommendations.
The resort will offer tourist accommodation for 2700 people in its two hotels, tourist park, motel, holiday homes and townhouses and holiday apartments.
More to come.