Friday, 14 July, 2023
12619462-AV28-23
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Walking for the Voice
Aiming for fashion big time
Tri legend passes at 90
36-page liftout Property Guide
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INSIDE
PR OP ER TY
Concours comes to Noosa
Hastings Street’s Alesha Gooderham, car contributor Sharon Dawson, Tom Offermann of Tom Offermann Real Estate and Sofitel general manager Mark Wilkinson put a shine on a 1955 XK140 Jaguar in readiness for the Concours D’Elegance. Picture: ROB MACCOLL
Guests are flying in from around the globe and cars are arriving from national and international private collections as Hastings Street prepares for its inaugural Noosa Concours d’Elegance this weekend. A new signature event - Noosa Concours D’Elegance - will deliver a display of exceptional automobiles to Noosa’s famed Hastings Street, combine the exhibition with an array of music and events to celebrate all the street has to offer. Modelled along similar lines to the Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance, which has been running for more than 70 years in California, Noosa’s event will host California’s chairperson Sandra Button who will officiate. Continued page 8
Stink over hotel The potential odour emanating from a Unitywater sewerage treatment plant and possible costs of their control were raised as major concerns impacting a proposed five-star hotel development to be located only 200m from the plant. Noosa Council discussion on the development application for a five-star boutique hotel at Noosa Springs was halted at Tuesday’s Planning and Environment Meeting after three separate deputations were delivered on the proposal. The application, an initiative of GH Australia, the Australian arm of Hong Kong property and development firm, Golden Horse Group and owner of Noosa Springs Golf and Spa Resort, proposes the construction of a $50 million
106-room hotel spanning five two and three stored buildings and featuring a two-level lagoon style swimming pool. Deputations were put forward by architect John Cochrane opposing the development, Unitywater’s Rhett Duncan who warned of the odour impact from the nearby sewerage treatment plant (STP) and urged council not to approve the development application and the developers representative Ellen Guan. Rhett Duncan of Unitywater, the water and wastewater service provider for the Noosa region, told the meeting, “we do not support this development in its proposed location. It is too close to the existing Noosa sewerage treatment plant,” he said. Mr Duncan said sewerage treatment had been carried out at the plant since the mid1970s, the plant upgraded in 1997, and opera-
tions transferred to Unitywater in 2010, under Department of Environment and Science (DES) approval. Mr Duncan said the original Noosa Springs development was shielded from STP odours by a 400m odour buffer that included geographical ridges. “When the Noosa Springs development was proposed Council made a conscious plan to shift the plan a further 300m to the south away from the sewerage plant’s sensitive receptors,” he said. “The 1997 STP was designed with consideration to this 400m buffer to the then proposed Noosa Springs development.” “This (hotel) development is 200m from the STP. It encroaches up the ridge line. “Approving this development is not only in conflict with council’s own earlier decisions to minimise potential impact of the STP on nearby
land uses but in conflict with the intent of state planning policy.” Mr Duncan said there had been few complaints about odour and Unitywater had operated its plant to minimise odour but there were limits to what they could do, particularly if there were unintended or unavoidable odour release events such as a sewerage network asset breakdown, significant rainfall or heatwaves. Mr Duncan said Unitywater noted the developer’s intention and Council conditions to manage the odour internally through measures including an odour complaint management plan, the maintaining of an odour complaints record, notifying guests of potential odours, full air-conditioning and restricting the times of outside use of facilities. Continued page 5
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12618374-KG28-23
By Margie Maccoll