Some developers, it seems, are prepared to wait for as long as it takes to maximise their profits by trying to slide around the Noosa Town Plan.
It’s confirmed in Noosa Council’s Planning and Environment Committee meeting this week that developer Thomco (No 2078) Pty Ltd (Tony Scanlon’s company) has now cost ratepayers $1,070,478 to date defending our Town Plan against its plans for the old Caravan Park site behind the Peregian Beach IGA.
This developer has taken money out of the pockets of every Noosa ratepayer in this epic 13 year battle that is still not over.
The fundamental disagreement here is over what our Plan holds to be best for our Peregian Beach community.
Remember it was Thomco which closed down the caravan park, a highly popular and affordable option for visitors to our area.
The plan calls for more affordable visitor accommodation in its place, including a motel…not a site jammed full of expensive townhouses.
For Noosa Council, the average cost each year to defend our Town Plan is just under a million dollars. It’s an investment in our community’s concept of a balance that we think is best for all of us.
The appeal settled (or so we thought) when Thomco finally accepted that the accommodation should ALL be for visitors as the plan demanded.
Two months after the court made the settlement a consent order on 21 June, 2019, Thomco was back in the courts yet again; now trying to delay the building of the motel until AFTER it builds and sells most of the high cost dwellings that it has so far been unable to sell off the plan.
Of course, many in our community suspect the plan is to delay the motel indefinitely and re-apply for more townhouses or units in its place.
The Council is still to bear the cost of a two-day hearing coming up soon to determine this issue.
Whatever profit Thomco makes from this development, it will have been at considerable cost to our ratepayers and to our business community waiting for those long-delayed visitors and their spending money.
Some developers see these court costs as nothing more than an expense cut off their bottom line.
We, the community, see them very differently. These costs are an investment in our future lifestyle, and well worth every cent.