Tuesday 22 June 2010

Foley Road, Palm Cove developer up to tricks again

Another development application is on its way back to Cairns Regional Council tomorrow for the notorious Foley Road, near Palm Cove.

A development application for the hillslope overlooking Palm Cove is being submitted by CANAS Pty Ltd.

This is the second time that this application has come before Council, with the first application being refused.

During 2008, CairnsBlog exposed through a series of revealing videos with local environmentalist Terry Spackman, appalling land management of the steep hillside slope. Council were slow to act and every drop of vegetation was removed, with few adequate sediment traps protecting run-off into the adjoining creek system.

Officers have again recommended refusal, but those wishing to make sure that this happens, should contact their Councillors today.

CairnsBlog on YouTube - Foley Road Development -
Citizen's inspection



5 comments:

Clifton Ratbag's Rule said...

This property is owned by Pam Buxton, Mebourne socialite and owner of the house "Sapphire Ridge" above the Hartwig property.

Hartwig's project collapsed, Hartwig lost the land to the bank, and they're now trying to get titles to sell it off.

Buxton is using the Hartwig approval to "bootstrap" her further demolition on this hillside.

It's despicable.

dallas said...

Foley Road is not the only beaches disaster zone trying to get going again. Argentea at Clifton Beach (not Palm Cove) is again lobbying to gain approval to build on top of a wetland after it was previously advised by both the State and Council that approval could not and would not be granted.

Argentea Project Manager and UDIA hero Matt Byrne is again bullying local planning officers with threats of going to his mates in Brisbane (including the Director-General of a State government department) with the cry that a refusal threatens the economic viability of the project. If so, perhaps the investors may consider a diligence action against their consultants (fellow bullies and bullshit artists Conics) and project manager (Matt) for not doing their homework properly in the first place.

This is the same hero who presided over the disaster that was the bungled handling of all the acid sulfate soil excavated at Bluewater Marina (a multi million dollar contract was let to rehabilitate acidified material so Multiplex can build on top of it). Matt will no doubt try to lobby the Minister for Environment when she’s on a flying visit to town tomorrow.

Many criticise the Clifton residents as whinging nimbys but my recollection of the area from the 70s and 80s to now suggests that much natural value has been lost. With the kind of behind the scenes dealing such as this that goes on there wouldn’t be too many of us that didn’t have a whinge. (who could ever forget the government’s irrefutably clear and concise definition of a “watercourse” at what is now Udo’s house of horror)

Fiona Tulip said...

You are correct Dallas when you say that much has already been lost on the Argentea site.

To start with Clifton residents lost the Northern end of Upolo esplanade (a gazetted street on the Dept Natural Resourses planning maps)for private beach access to the million dollar exclusive house sites. Our thanks go to the then Divisional Councillor,Sno Bonneau, who made that happen via a non transparent process "deal" called a delegate authority. No one knew in our community about this until it had been done.

Secondly, Argentea called their beachfront lots, "Argentea Beach", by another swift behind the scenes move involving Council in the Delegate Authority process, whereby they were allowed to change boundaries, so that this lot, became Palm Cove, to allow the name, Argentea Beach, Palm Cove which obviously sounds better than Argentea Beach, Clifton Beach. The reality and great irony is of course, that the only vehicular access to these lots is via Endeavour Road, Clifton Beach.

Thirdly, Argentea were allowed by Council and the State govt. to build a road from the Sea temple right through a designated "melaleucca wetland" and within the 100m erosion prone zone and adjacent to Delaney' Creek.

Fourth, Argentea cleared a whole riparian corridor next to Delaney's creek and erected a concrete pathway less than a metre from the edge of this natural creek.

Fifth, they built two boardwalks about 4m wide across Delaney's creek within 100m of each other, destroying two lots of coastal wetlands, mangrove areas in the process and clearing on either side of the creek so that now one can see the beachfront through a great hole in the vegetation canopy about 20m wide.

The list goes on, but for those of us who have tried to get these things stopped, no joy at all despite our best efforts!!

You are right again Dallas, when you say that only those who knew how beautiful that site was before development began, will realise what has been lost there, and of course the real SHAME is that, it does not have to be this way, if sensitive and appropriate planning is done before hand, and Council monitor and only approve environmentally sensitive projects in key coastal sites such as this.

Unfortunately, those things did not happen, and we all must continue to ask, WHY and continue to apply pressure so that these mistakes do not get repeated?

Quien Sabe said...

One need look no further than the fact that Crs Bonneau and Chcrane voted AGAINST refusing this application.

Fortunately the application was refused...

Fiona Tulip said...

Quien Sabe,

No surprises there then!!