Developer Sammy Singh, owner of the Forrest Beach Hotel pub and caravan park, said he is in advanced talks to convert 5.5ha of prime property overlooking the Coral Sea, north of Townsville, into 45 lots to build “upmarket cabins” for retirees.

“There’s 18 beachfront blocks, you won’t find that anywhere in Australia, go look up and down the coast; there’s none available anywhere and they won’t allow any further development,” he told the Townsville Bulletin.

He added there will be a further 27 smaller blocks suitable for permanent accommodation.

• “It’s like an over 50s resort,” he said, comparing the community to those developed by Ingenia Communities.
• “I’ll own the land, they’ll own the cabins, they’ll pay me rent for the land and they’ll pay their own power and water; rates will sort of be in a body corporate as will road maintenance, landscaping, pool – it’s like a gated community.”

 A new sign erected at the Hotel shows the “relocatable home park” proposal and advises residents that they have until 30 April to make a submission on the development to the Hinchinbrook Shire Council.

“We didn’t put the application in (with council) until we knew we had all our ducks in a row,” he said.

“We’ve done the reports, we’ve done the environmental, we’ve done the research on the native animals, the native birds, the native flora and fauna, we’ve been to the state government and now we’re back with the application.”