Residents across Mission Beach are increasingly worried about development proposals on rural land and sensitive environmental areas. You are encouraged to HAVE YOUR SAY.

The The latest application for a Material Change of Use at Ohl Road, is being described as a nature-based farmstay but is designed and scaled like a commercial caravan park. The first stage includes 30 caravan sites with individual fire pits, a camp kitchen, a communal fire pit, fish-cleaning station and other facilities that would increase traffic on a narrow rural road. 

Fundamental Planning Conflict — Rural Zone & Material Change of Use
The development represents a major Material Change of Use incompatible with the Rural Zone where only low-key, small-scale tourism ancillary to agriculture is supported.

The proposal is; 

• tourism-dominant, not agriculture-dominant. 
• within cassowary corridors and  environmental management and conservation zones.

While the concept of farmstay tourism fits well with the Mission Beach identity, this development doesn't fit the low key scale compatible with primary agricultural use of the land.  This incremental loss of agricultural land to development has seen much of the productive land at Mission Beach lost to other uses. The proposal is inconsistent with the overall outcomes sought from the The Rural Zone Code (5.2.0). 

 In a more appropriate location, the proposal could be an asset to the region. A development of this scale isn’t suitable for a  wildlife corridor with dangerous road conditions.  There is also no detail for planned walking trails within the conservation zone. ​

Community Considerations About the Proposed Development

Given the location and scale of this proposal, there are several concerns  raising questions of how impacts will be managed.

Scale and suitability
The proposal includes 30 caravan sites and multiple shared facilities. How does this level of development (including plans for a second stage) align with low-impact, low-scale farmstay activities on Rural-zoned land.?

​Traffic and road safety
Ohl and Boyett Roads are narrow rural roads with a blind crest that already requires vehicles to pull off to pass. How will the increased traffic from caravans, boats and visitor vehicles be safely accommodated?

Weed spread and environmental protection
A declared weed is present on the property. What measures will prevent its spread, particularly if new walking trails are established in or near sensitive vegetation?

Fish-cleaning waste on an unsewered site
Fish-cleaning stations generate high-strength waste that typically requires appropriate disposal systems. How will fish waste be managed on a site without sewerage to prevent odour, contamination and wildlife attraction?

Smoke and air quality
With a fire pit proposed for every campsite, how will smoke drift, be managed to avoid impacts on nearby neighbours?

Cassowary movement and wildlife corridors
The area forms part of a mapped cassowary corridor, with regular sightings and a documented road-strike fatality on Boyett Road. How will risks to cassowaries be managed as traffic increases?
​
Food attractants and cassowary–human interaction
The property includes a fruit farm and fruit stall.  How will the development manage the heightened risk of cassowaries being attracted to campsites, leading to increased cassowary–human interaction and the well-known problem of hand-feeding?

Cumulative & Precedent Effects
Approval sets precedent for tourism expansion into farmland, habitat fragmentation, and declining planning integrity.

Mission Beach has a deeply rooted community expectation: low-key coastal villages separated by rainforest and farmland. This proposal introduces a large tourism and events hub in a sensitive rural location — conflicting with the character and landscape pattern the community has defended for decades.
​