Controversial move to block development along protected coastline

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Controversial move to block development along protected coastline

A controversial move that could have allowed six-storey highrises to be built along a previously protected part of Queensland's coastline has been knocked back, but changes to the skyline may be inevitable.

The debate over the height of buildings in Bargara, 350 kilometres north of Brisbane, has resurfaced with the Bundaberg Regional Council voting down proposed amendments to its planning scheme that would have changed the way development applications were assessed.

The ultimate decision could be in the hands of the state government as it seeks to resolve a long-running hangover from merging conflicting town plans after council amalgamations in 2008.

The buildings could not exceed five storeys under the former Burnett Shire Council. When it formed part of the Bundaberg Regional Council, along with three other shires, it became part of a complex process to combine the existing town plans.

The proposed amendments sought to address were a controversial development proposal that triggered state government intervention.

Five councillors voted in favor and six were against the amendments at Tuesday's general meeting, including councillor Greg Barnes, the representative of the coastal suburb.

He has argued that the quiet beachside community that tourists love and travel to visit would be at risk if the amendments were passed.

There are people coming up from Victoria for 20 or 30 years, and the reason they come up is because of the character of the township, it hasn't been spoiled. The amendments would have put developers under more scrutiny, not less, according to Michael Ellery, the council's group manager for development.

He said that the scheme looked to make controls around building heights much stricter.

Any applications more than five storeys would have to undertake impact assessments in relation to the local turtle population and would be open for public submissions, according to Ellery.

Bargara is located next to Australia's largest turtle rookery, Mon Repos, and has a number of planning provisions designed to protect both hatchlings and nesting turtles from urban impacts.

In 2018, the Queensland government called in a proposed nine-storey Jewel development on the Esplanade at Bargara after the council took the unusual approach of letting it proceed to approval.

The approval was later reduced for a six-storey development, but construction never began.

The then State Minister for Planning Cameron Dick also enforced a Temporary Local Planning Instrument TLPI, which limits building heights in the high-density residential zone at Bargara to five and six storeys.

Karen Tulk has been living in Bargara for more than 30 years and believes that building developments should be restricted to just three storeys.

If they allow it to go to five and six storeys, it can even go higher than that, and once these changes are made, there's no turning back whatsoever.

The Esplanade is only a very narrow street with no chance of increasing at any time. It would have a negative impact on the traffic. Mr Ellery said the amendments were meant to replace the state government's TLPI. The Planning Minister gave the council direction that he expected that we would amend our scheme to reflect what he had done, he said.

If the council decides not to proceed with the amendment, the situation is that the Ministers' TLPI will remain in force until May next year, and will continue to regulate building heights in the high-density residential zone. He said if the council did not change its planning scheme, the matter could go to the Minister to make changes on the council's behalf.

Officers will go back to the council to see how they would like to proceed.