Community
17 August, 2024
Waterpark gets the nod
THE long-awaited $210 million water and tourist park at Kewarra Beach is scheduled to open by mid-2026 with works due to start next month.
Reefsedge Waterpark and Tourist Park is a step closer after Cairns Regional Council issued a planning permit needed for the new tourist attraction to proceed at Wednesday’s meeting.
On the former Paradise Palms site at Kewarra Beach, the two-hectare water park will include:
A three-level slide tower complex with a series of tube and body slides
An aqua tower with additional tube rides
The King Cobra water slide with multiple water features along the ride
A dedicated children’s water play area with five small children’s slides
A wave pool
A lagoon-style swimming pool.
The planning permit also covers a new tourist park of 427 cabins and 53 caravan/camping sites.
Developer Darren Halpin said “we are really excited to be at a key milestone point in the project journey with the DA approval now in place”.
“Reefsedge Waterpark and Tourist Park is something the people of Cairns have been wanting and we are now able to deliver it for them,” he said.
“Reefsedge will be open to the public by mid-2026, but there’s a lot of work to do between now and then. It’s a massive project to get underway, so we are wasting no time, with civil works to commence on site in September.
“My team and I have had this vision for a long time and we made a commitment to the community that we’d create something really special at the old Paradise Palms site after the closure of the golf course.
“We are now delivering on that promise and bringing a project that will be great for people of all ages and something the people of FNQ can be really proud of.
“We’ve had a few delays in the lead up to get the town planning aspects right and to fit the needs of what the community needed. The estimated arrival times of equipment also played a key factor in all that as the slides are not manufactured in Australia.
“But all that is behind us now, we are delighted to be on track and we can’t wait to get the ball rolling next month,” Mr Halpin said.
The park is expected to attract 379,000 people a year to Cairns and provide 250 full and part-time jobs during construction and 400 once operational.
The water park will be available to both tourist park guests and day visitors, with a maximum capacity of 2000 patrons per day.
Deputy mayor Cr Brett Olds told Wednesday’s council meeting that the initial application was “controversial” but Mr Halpin had “worked very hard” to “overcome many hurdles”.
“I really look forward to it happening,” he said.
Cr Olds said locals were also looking forward to the venture but it was noted that people staying in the tourist park would get priority access over day visitors.
A council report said the tourist park would be constructed in stages and the waterpark would be fully constructed as part of stage 1. The proportion of day visitors to the waterpark was expected to decrease over time.
As a result, car parking spaces would fall from 354 during stage 1 (including staff) to 275 spaces upon completion of stage 6, it said..
Cr Rhonda Coghlan said the attraction was something missing on the Northern Beaches and it would appeal to young families.
“It will also bring more tourists to town,” she said.
Mayor Cr Amy Eden said she was concerned that locals might miss out.
She said it was “really wanted by the community” and she would be “most sad and distressed if they are locked out”.
Cr Eden said she was pleased the existing former golf clubhouse would be refurbished.
