Hervey Bay Gossip

Back on February 8 Strewth asked if the development bubble had burst here in Hervey Bay, something that the Gossip has been wondering about for some months now. Several times we’ve mentioned that there has been a slowdown for small business here in town and pointed to the slow take up of some commercial developments as a sign that things are not going as well for Hervey Bay as it might otherwise appear.

It’s been known for a while that the last whale watching season was not as good for operators as previous seasons have been.  Then we had the wet weather over Christmas that really hurt a number of the tourism related businesses here in town. Poor tourist seasons have a flow-on effect for the rest of the town and if thathose poor seasons weren’t bad enough other factors have also had an impact here.

The upwards creep in interest rates, the cessation of work on the Centro expansions and the collapse of a major building contractor hasn’t helped the situation either so we seem to be in for some interesting times in the months ahead and perhaps we really will see a slowdown in development here in Hervey Bay.

So let’s take a look at some of the affected areas around Hervey Bay.

The resort site in Freshwater Street Hervey Bay that has seen no work since the fencing went up just after Christmas.

One of two construction sites between the Esplanade and Watson Street Pialba. This site seems to have some work going on while work on the other may have stopped.

Courses at the University of Southern Queensland here in Hervey Bay may have been slashed but construction work on the extensions is still proceeding. There were workers on site when this photo was taken last Saturday.

A commercial development in Luizzi Street Hervey Bay that was completed in October. Of the nine units available in the development only three are occupied. Construction of a proposed new development across the road has not yet begun.

These units in Central Avenue Hervey Bay were completed late last year … all of them remain unoccupied.

And out at the industrial estate at the airport things aren’t much different. There’s a lot of empty land, a few commercial complexes going up, one or two that have been occupied and others like this one.

It certainly seems that development has slowed here in Hervey Bay and you would have to wonder if other developments along the Esplanade will now proceed.

Is the redevelopment of the corner of Fraser Street and the Esplanade still to go ahead? A few of the affected shops are empty but nothing more appears to be happening.

Unfortunately this is a town that depends on development so things may not be too bright for Hervey Bay in the short term. And that ‘term’ may be longer than many might hope for because we’re now about to become part of a much larger regional council area and the needs of this area will have to be balanced with the needs of the other areas that are to be amalgamated with Hervey Bay.

As more and more high-rise development takes place along the picturesque Esplanade here in Hervey Bay people are beginning to discover that the White Shoe Brigade still have a grip on the reins of power here in Queensland.

One man’s protest at that power that overwhelms the little people has been to paint his house home on the Esplanade a bright yellow.

The sign he’s erected says it all.

For Sale $5,000,000

This privately owned property is lawful. A memorial to inept Queensland politicians and our Council who refuse to protect (as other states do) adjoining properties from illegal damage caused by development construction, especially below ground car parks, thus leaving adjoining property owners exposed to expensive litigation in an often futile attempt at justice

Hence

Development at any Cost!!

Construction of a new resort development will soon begin next door to this house.

The view from the Hervey Bay Council Chambers

When the Hervey Bay Town Plan was released the week before last the Hervey Bay Gossip just had to add it’s 2 cents worth to the debate. Over the weekend Hervey Bay Councillor Sue Brooks took the time to add some comments to the piece.

Those comments are important and deserve their own entry here on the Gossip. Councillor Brooks makes some important points about the town plan and she also gives us an insight into what happens at council meetings.

I am but one Councillor in a group of eight. I firmly believe that Hervey Bay is threatened with over development especially and specifically high density development concentrated anywhere that provides a view of our Bay. Most obviously this is concentrated along our Esplanade.

I am sad to say that I am quite alone in my views. I repeatedly have voted against developments that breach our town plan guidelines but am consistently the only ‘no’ vote.

Yes I have supported the new Planning Scheme. Troubling as the extra height allowance is the alternative to supporting the new planning scheme was to leave the city with no planning scheme at all. The old scheme, even if it could have been extended past December 15th, was permitting more high density over a greater part of the city. I felt caught quite literally between a rock and a hard place.

The new scheme can now be amended. I have tried already to have the maximum height reduced back to the six storey limit and failed. (Cr McNeven and myself voted for this prior to adopting the scheme but received no support from any other Councillor).

The new scheme protects vegetation, recognises wetlands and water ways and has other features which make it superior to the old scheme.

I will continue to lobby as strongly as I can against high density tall buildings but feel quite powerless to effect change without support from my fellow Councillors.

Can I please ask members of the community who share my concerns about high density to lobby Councillors directly. I fear our Esplanade will become a tourist strip catering predominantly for tourists.

The king tides that threatened a number of houses at Toogoom shows that, even here in Hervey Bay, the decisions by Council to allow housing developments along the beachfront is short-sighted to say the least.

Of course, here the danger is not quite as dramatic as it is along other parts of Australia’s east coast where major storms have threatened homes in Noosa, Byron Bay, Coffs Harbour and Narrabeen.

Just because a portion of coastline hasn’t changed in living memory doesn’t mean that it will stay that way forever. Allowing building development close to the shoreline ignores the fact that the shoreline is dynamic and can change in a matter of hours.

Councils should be alert to the potential hazards and refuse to allow building applications that come too close to the beach. If they don’t then the next time a major storm arrives we could all be paying to save someone’s home and their wonderful sea view.

Let’s hope Hervey Bay City Council heeds the warning that those residents along Toogoom Beach received.

Yesterday we reported on the announcement of a new Ramada resort for Hervey Bay. Previously there had been some speculation that it might have been built on the site of the Anchorage caravan park in Urangan.

Late yesterday the developers revealed that the new resort will be built on land between Pialba and Point Vernon that is currently occupied by a hotel. Concerns about the height of the building are already being voiced by several groups.

No development plan has yet been submitted to Council.

Bones found on Tuesday at the site of a Colyton Street development are headed for the John Tonge Forensic Centre in Brisbane for testing to see if they are human.

The site were the bones were found is claimed by the Aboriginal community as an ancestral grave site but developers say that despite an investigation of the area there is no proof that the land does contain any aboriginal graves.

The area where the bones were foujnd has been cordoned off but work will continue on the parts of the site.

The Hervey Bay City Council has announced plans to re-develop the Pialba area of the city. $50 million is the expected cost and we can also expect to see the roads leading into the city from the Doolong area to be part of that re-development

It seems that the Anchorage Caravan Park at Urangan is soon to be cleared out and turned into something quite different. Various rumours are circulating and some suggest that a theatre or even a casino will be built on the site.

However the information that we have received via people who may have some idea is that Ramada is back and is interested in building a resort on the site. Whether that really is the situation is not yet clear.

One thing is for certain though, more and more tourist developments are going to happen in Hervey Bay and the older areas close to the water are definitely prime candidates for redevelopment.

Update: 10 January 07
The site has now been sold and the land has been cleared. You can find the story here

For some years now Hervey Bay has been one of the leading centres in Australia for population growth. Retirees have been coming here in droves to take advantage of the climate and the lifestyle.

Their migration has been financed by the sale of their homes in the major capitals, often at prices that were unimaginable when they first purchased those homes.

However that flood of people coming here may soon begin to wane according to new research by BIS Shrapnel. As the metropolitan property market begins to struggle more and more people are either keeping their homes or choosing to sell and move to less popular destinations.

The property market could fall by up to 10% over the next year and some economists suggest that it could go even lower. In the past such fluctuations have not impacted so heavily on regional growth centres like Hervey Bay but in recent years property prices here have risen to the point where prices are on a par with cities and so there is little financial gain in moving.

While that is bad news for Hervey Bay some inland areas are becoming more attractive and Toowoomba has recorded increasing residential construction figures over the last few months.

A prominent Queensland property developer has outlined his plans to build a terminal for cruise ships off Hervey Bay.

The plans … or concept … as the developer likes to call them also involve a super yacht marina that would see a major expansion of Boat Harbour.

I wonder if we really want Boat Harbour expanded and whether Fraser Island could really cope with even more tourists.?