Clive Palmer has withdrawn an application to build a mega car museum at the Palmer Coolum Resort, Yaroomba.
The withdrawal came on the eve of today’s Sunshine Coast Council meeting, where councillors were due to make a decision on the application.
The application by Coeur De Lion Investments Pty Ltd, of which Mr Palmer is director, faced likely rejection given a council officer report recommending its refusal.
The report said the proposal did not comply with the planning scheme.
The Palmer Motor Museum would have been four storeys high, with 879 car display bays, including turntables, 363 motorcycle bays, a lobby area, special display zone, lifts and a viewing terrace on part of the upper level.
More than 700 public submissions were received on the project, with all but seven against it.
The council report listed 11 reasons why the museum did not fit the planning scheme, including that it exceeded the height allowable for a tourist attraction on the site.
“As the proposal is for a tourist attraction, the applicable maximum height is 8.5m and not more than one storey,“ the report said.
“The proposed height of 21.6m comprising four storeys (not including the rooftop terrace lobby) exceeds the nominated building height by 13.1m and three storeys.”
The report went on to say the museum, with a gross floor area of 32,019sqm, did not fit the intent for the precinct for a resort residential development with a small commercial area of up to 200sqm.
It said the proposal’s “large-scale commercial character’ would be “prominent and incongruous” in its surroundings instead of low in scale and softened with landscaping.
“The proposed development has a built form of a size that is significantly larger than any building in the surrounding area and that would be visible from numerous public and private locations, including from Mount Coolum,” it said.
According to the report, the museum proposal conflicted with key character elements for the Mount Coolum planning area and tourism strategy implementation measures, and was inconsistent with the desired character and intent for the planning area and precinct.
“The proposed development does not exhibit characteristics of scale, site planning and design which are compatible with the natural features of the area,” it said.
“The proposed development would not provide for the enhancement of the character of tourist precinct as it is not compatible with that of the existing development and the desired character of the locality having regard to building height and bulk.”
The report also took issue with two access points on Warran Road and direct vehicle access between the resort and the museum, and said intersection upgrades would be required in the area.
Sunshine Coast News has attempted to contact Mr Palmer.
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