Cassowary Coast Regional Council has approved the development application for short-term accommodation, a tourist park, function facility and produce packing operation on Alexander Drive in Mission Beach.
In total Council received 47 properly made submissions along with a petition with approximately 40 signatures. C4 made a submission on the proposal during the public notification period late last year.
The issues raised through the public notification process included the scale and intensity of the development, noise and residential amenity, traffic and road safety, environmental impacts, cassowary habitat and wildlife, wastewater management and the operation of the proposed function facility and tourist park.
Council’s decision notice confirms the application, MCU25/0032, was approved with conditions at its meeting on 23 July 2026.
| What C4 asked for | Final outcome | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Refuse the application | Council approved it in full, subject to conditions. | Not achieved |
| Significantly scale down outdoor event operations | The original proposal discussed a 500-person event. Final approval caps any function at 150 people including guests, staff and contractors, limits weddings/conferences/private functions to 50 per year, allows only one function per day, limits consecutive function days, restricts operation to 8am–10pm, requires amplified music and outdoor PA systems to stop by 10pm, and requires guests to leave by 10.30pm. Council also says the applicant reduced the designated event area during assessment. | Substantially achieved |
| Zero clearing of native vegetation | Condition 13 expressly says “no clearing is undertaken of the native vegetation on the site.” | Achieved |
| Continued rehabilitation of previously cleared areas | I cannot find a condition requiring ongoing rehabilitation of previously cleared areas. There is a landscaping condition requiring buffers planted with mixed local natives, but that is narrower than the rehabilitation C4 requested. | Not achieved / only indirectly addressed |
| Mandatory no-pets condition, with signage and enforcement | Condition 10 prohibits dogs associated with people staying at the accommodation and requires the owner/caretaker to make this known to campers. Condition 11 requires cassowary information and cassowary-awareness signage. However, it is not a general no-pets condition, cats are not expressly mentioned, and the signage condition is cassowary awareness signage rather than specifically “no pets” signage. | Partly achieved |
| Wildlife movement studies focusing on wildlife corridors | I cannot find any requirement for wildlife or cassowary movement studies. Council instead concluded that leaving most of the site undeveloped, along with reduced speeds, signage, animal restrictions and other controls, would preserve habitat connectivity. | Not achieved |
In its Statement of Reasons, Council said the applicant had amended the proposal during the assessment process, including reducing the function area, increasing separation from neighbouring residential properties and providing further environmental and acoustic information.
The approval allows a maximum of 70 people to stay overnight on the site, with up to 17 campsites and seven cabins. Functions are limited to a maximum of 150 people, including guests, staff and contractors, and no more than 50 weddings, conferences or private functions can be held each calendar year. Functions must finish by 10pm, with patrons required to leave the event space by 10.30pm.
Conditions relating specifically to cassowaries and the surrounding environment include:
- no dogs associated with the accommodation are permitted on the site
- cassowary information must be provided to guests, along with cassowary awareness signage
- the internal speed limit is to be 20 km/h
- no clearing of native vegetation is permitted
- lighting, stormwater, erosion and sediment controls must meet the requirements set out by Council.
Council concluded that, with these and other conditions in place, the development could proceed without unacceptable impacts on cassowary habitat, environmental values, surrounding infrastructure or residential amenity.
The decision notice also explains C4’s right to appeal. As a submitter, C4 can appeal Council’s decision in the Queensland Planning and Environment Court within 20 business days of receiving the notice.