General News
4 March, 2026
‘Sanctuary’ for eyesore
THE site of the now-scrapped $300m Port Douglas Fairmont Resort is set for a new lease of life as an upmarket residential estate on the main road into the tourism town.
To be known as ‘Sanctuary Greens’, a development application has been lodged with Douglas Shire Council on behalf of Brisbane developer Seymour Land Pty Ltd to create 40 residential lots on an empty 2ha vacant block at 71-85 Port Douglas Road. It sits between the Oaks Port Douglas Resort in the south and the Mirage Country Club to the north and west.
Aspire Town Planning and Project Services senior town planner Daniel Favier said the proposal “represents an orderly and logical subdivision outcome that responds to the site’s physical characteristics and the local demand for additional residential land supply in close proximity to Port Douglas CBD”.
“The current application seeks to formalise the site’s redevelopment through a well-designed residential subdivision that efficiently utilises the land while addressing servicing, access, drainage and environmental constraints,” he said.
“The development also allows appropriate flexibility for the use of future dwelling houses for short term accommodation, such as Airbnb-style listings, where contained within an existing dwelling, without altering the fundamentally residential character of the subdivision.
“The current application seeks to formalise and rationalise the site’s redevelopment through a well-planned residential subdivision that efficiently utilises the land while appropriately addressing access, servicing, drainage and environmental constraints.
“The proposed reconfiguration comprises 40 residential allotments arranged around a private internal road network, together with areas of common property to accommodate shared infrastructure, stormwater management and drainage functions.
“The subdivision layout has been carefully designed to integrate with surrounding development patterns, provide appropriately sized and functional residential lots and achieve a high standard of amenity for future residents.
“While the site is not currently zoned low-medium density residential under the Douglas Shire Planning Scheme 2018, the application includes a variation request seeking to establish use rights consistent with that zone.
“The proposal facilitates an efficient use of serviced urban land and contributes positively to the supply of residential lots within the Port Douglas area, where opportunities for new residential development are limited.
“The subject site at 71–85 Port Douglas Road, Port Douglas has an extensive planning history, predominantly characterised by large-scale tourist and resort-oriented development proposals. Despite multiple approvals being issued over the past two decades, none of these tourist-based developments have been successfully delivered, with approvals either expiring, being substantially modified or ultimately refused.
“Residential development offers a more realistic, deliverable and orderly use of the land, one that can capitalise on the site’s proximity to the Port Douglas town centre while avoiding the intensity, operational impacts and infrastructure demands associated with resort-style uses.”
