Further Council Report MCU21-0110

                    6.        Under section 45(5)(b) of the Planning Act, Council’s assessment of the development application
                              may be carried out against, or having regard to, any other relevant matter. The specific examples
                              of ‘relevant matters’ in the Planning Act are:

                              (a)      a planning need;

                              (b)      the current relevance of the assessment benchmarks in light of changed circumstances;

                              (c)      whether assessment benchmarks or other prescribed matters were based on material
                                       errors.

                    7.        To the extent there is any inconsistency with the Noosa Plan 2020 (which is not admitted),
                              Council should also have regard to the following relevant matters:

                              (a)      any non-compliance with the Noosa Plan 2020 (which is not admitted), is only of a
                                       technical nature;

                              (b)      the recently constructed ‘Parkridge Noosa’, a substantial development in the Tourist
                                       Accommodation zone will not satisfy the projected level of demand for visitor
                                       accommodation under the Noosa Plan 2020;

                              (c)      if approved, the development will be the first purpose built luxury hotel in Noosa since the




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                                       Sofitel in Hastings Street (which was constructed in 1989);

                              (d)      given the existing development on the land, the resort complex is unable to be




                                                                               T
                                       accommodated solely on the land in the Tourism Accommodation zone;
                                                                             EN
                              (e)      if approved, it is anticipated the proposed development will result in an increase of
                                       $25.7m in gross regional product (GRP) for the Noosa region and 202 jobs during
                                       construction. Following construction, the proposed development will result in an increase
                                       of $14.3m in GRP and 158 jobs. In this regard, it is noted that Noosa’s current economy
                                                               M

                                       relies significantly on the tourism, retail, health and construction sectors (Noosa Plan
                                       2020, s 3.2.2);
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                              (f)      there is an estimated shortage of 683 short-term accommodation rooms in Noosa and the
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                                       proposed development will address the shortage (in part);
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                              (g)      the proposed resort complex represents an opportunity to provide additional tourism
                                       accommodation by integrating with the existing facilities and infrastructure that form part
                                       of the Noosa Springs Golf and Spa Resort. The opportunity exists in circumstances
                                       where there is limited land available to provide new tourist accommodation and a chronic
                                AT




                                       shortage of full-service luxury hotel accommodation;

                              (h)      the proposed development will offer tourist accommodation in a desirable location outside
                                       of Hasting Street and other busy nodes in Noosa, which will mean existing traffic
                                       congestion during peak periods is not exacerbated. It will also contribute to greater
                                       diversity of accommodation offered in the area and reduce the existing tendency of
                                       visitors to utilise Airbnb accommodation;

                              (i)      the proposed development is consistent with the planning strategies in the Noosa Plan
                                       2020 that seek to protect the amenity and maintain residential areas for permanent
                                       residential living, without being compromised by short-term visitor accommodation;

                              (j)      the proposed development has been designed on the basis of comprehensive advice
                                       obtained from reputable experts in town planning, ecology, odour, noise, bushfire risk,
                                       traffic engineering, civil engineering, architecture, landscape architecture, hospitality
                                       planning and hotel operations. The proposed development has been designed to ensure
                                       minimal impact on the existing vegetation and fauna on the land. The proponent accepts
                                       the terms of the conditions relating to vegetation management in the draft conditions
                                       package;




                    Letter - Mr L Sengstock - Submissions on grounds for refusal - 02(43623133.1).docx                               3
Document Set ID: 22632986
Version: 7, Version Date: 07/11/2023