• Alternative design revealed
• Construction costs estimated at $15-20 million
• Gary Hunt's open letter
• Read the independent reports (no longer available)
  
• Revenue could double that of Council design: Report says

The following article contains unedited and comprehensive information regarding the lagoon pool and surrounding area design prepared by Hunt Design and Hortulus Landscape Design.

In addition you can read the 'Design and Environmental Considerations - Preliminary Analysis Report' prepared by independent sustainability consultants, Green At Heart, and a letter from the Building Designers' Association of Queensland Inc. whose members were in favour of the tidal area design over the area south of St Mary's By The Sea (these documents no longer available).

These documents, along with the following letter from Gary Hunt, have been made available in full to enable you to establish an informed opinion on your preferred design, or even whether you believe a lagoon is necessary at all.

Letter from Gary Hunt

At the end of about four and a half years of public consultation an indicative Master Plan for the redevelopment of the Port Douglas Waterfront was produced.

Two sites were identified – one adjacent to the Surf Lifesaving Club and a second in the tidal flats adjacent to Rex Smeal Park.

The lifesaving club site has many merits but was constrained by virtue of its lack of space to accommodate a suitably sized lagoon and adjacent land for lying around and car-parking. It was also distant from the commercial centre and had a lack of a “wow” factor.

The site within the tidal zone has a stronger support from the local community and does not have the all the negative aspects of the local Council management’s preferred site in the car park between St Mary’s Church and the Combined Club.

One of the key determinants is to establish an order of size for the lagoon.

The best comparison facility is the one at Airlie Beach.

Airlie has a slightly smaller catchment population than Port Douglas and similar although again somewhat lower visitation rates than Port.

The comparison is further validated in the sense that both towns are tourist destinations in their own right, in a coastal setting and the lagoons are immediately adjacent to the village core.

Airlie’s lagoon is 4300m2. So it is reasonable to assume a similar size lagoon should be the target in Port Douglas.

An indicative lagoon concept has been produced by our architectural practice in conjunction with John Sullivan of Hortulus as a starting point to suggest a possible solution consistent with the community consultation program and to offer an alternative approach for consideration.

The primary design features of this suggested solution are:

• Lagoon size of 4200 m2
• Constructed on the coral, ballast and rock rubble that dries out during a large part of the tidal cycle adjacent to Rex Smeal Park
• A series of “wet edges” on the seaward side to create a seamless vista across the lagoon to the Coral Sea.
• The seawall located and constructed to retain the seaward mangrove colony and provide for re-establishing further mangrove colonies along the lagoon edge ending up with a net gain in mangroves and fish habitats.
• The lagoon has a series of gentle cascades at its western end to create shallow pools for kids.
• The body of water is on a direct view line from Macrossan Street – the heart of the township.
• All ancillary structures – toilets, change rooms, pool equipment etc. to be constructed in classic vernacular North Queensland style to sit comfortably with nearby icons like St Mary’s Church, the Courthouse and Courthouse Hotel.
• The pool could be a treated sea water system to minimise environmental issues from chlorinated overflows etc.

The benefits of this location and design concept are many:

• By siting it on reclaimed land it frees up the rest of the parkland to allow for a larger “green space”, consolidation of the market area and space for car parking nearby to service the market and the lagoon without having to cross the main entry road into Port Douglas.
• It is far enough away from St Mary’s Church to minimise interference with the sanctity of the Church.
• The stink tree has no impact on the lagoon or its surrounds.
• The siting consolidates the recreation spaces of the waterfront park and activates the whole waterfront precinct from St Mary’s By the Sea to Rex Smeal Park.
• It is close to the facilities in the main street and will have a positive direct economic impact for traders in the street.
• Being on the view line from Macrossan Street it is highly visible and easy to find for visitors.
• The view into the lagoon from passing tourist ferries and private craft will be stunning with waterfalls from the “wet edge” punctuated by rocky islands softened with a screen of mangroves on the seawall. The lagoon and its environs will be extremely attractive and  highly visible to become a “must do” for reef travellers.
• With its natural setting and visual “wow factor” the lagoon will be highly marketable as a very photogenic image expressing the essence of Port Douglas. This in turn will have a positive economic impact on the township accenting its desirability as the jewel in the crown of Australian tourism.
• The concept and setting reinforce a natural ambience reflecting the values of our village and are totally different to the more urban examples in Cairns, Townsville and Airlie .
• Based on the significant increase in visitor nights recorded in Airlie after construction of their lagoon it is reasonable to expect a similar if not greater increase in length of stay for visitors to Port.

In the opinion of the Council Design Team this site has significant environmental issues, is unsupported by the Council’s planners and is unlikely to gain approval.

This is inconsistent with independent advice sought from various consultants in the environmental and engineering spheres of expertise.

Preliminary analyses of the coastal processes suggest that a properly profiled lagoon in this location is likely to have minimal impact on the beach and adjacent areas as the existing area is an urban area and already quite restrained by the sugar wharf, Rex Smeal park, the intertidal rock wall and mangroves.

The dredging of the channel may also have had some influence on this beach area in the past. However, it is noted that an assessment of hydraulic modelling may be required to exactly understand the preferred shape of the lagoon.

In terms of approvals the issue is the triple bottom line. That is to say the balance between social, economic and environmental impacts. If it can be demonstrated that the minimal environmental impacts can be mitigated through appropriate measures and the social and economic impacts are significant then the case for seeking necessary approvals can be argued successfully.

What is required now is a properly researched study into the implementation of a lagoon in the location identified through the Enquiry By Design (EBD) process.

The choice of lagoon must be driven by the community. If so why do so many in the Port community feel that our wishes are not being heard? The work to date for the recently identified new sites has been proven to be flawed and the public consultation process for all four sites recognised as being biased towards the one site preferred by the design team.

It also seems that the Council design team has ignored the views of the majority of local members of the Waterfront Master Planning Committee. And other community organisations.

What we need now is a fresh look at the originally identified site undertaken in a truly collaborative approach between Council representatives that respect our views working beside the community representatives where all voices are heard.

We only have this one chance to create a lagoon that showcases Port Douglas as a truly iconic international destination.  To be truly successful and provide the most benefit, we need to create a lagoon that provides the best possible outcomes in terms of  social, economic and environmental benefits for the whole community.

Gary Hunt