NOOSA Lakes Resort in Tewantin’s Hilton Terrace is set to receive a facelift and become a small hub for “business tourism”.
The resort currently houses a conference centre, 94 units and a surf museum which is extensively used for community meetings and activities.
It is zoned Tourist Accommodation “to provide for short-term accommodation and associated uses that serve visitors to support the tourism focus of the area”.
Councillors have given the tick to an application for the ailing accommodation conference centre to formally include the surf museum, to add a Vietnamese restaurant, and a gym primarily dedicated to rehabilitating Vietnam and other war veterans, along with a new outside deck facing Noosa River and landscaping improvements.
In addition, councillors at the February 14 General Committee chose to defy a staff recommendation to refuse the applicant’s request for a series of small short-term hire or hot-desk offices which could be used by visitors at the resort.
A dissenting motion from Mayor Clare Stewart urged councillors to rethink the refusal which points to the hierarchy of the Noosa Business Centre at Noosa Civic as being the appropriate location for short-term office hire.
Councillors one-by-one argued the merits of the offices’ inclusion, saying there was already a boardroom onsite, and it would assist in the revitalisation of the resort as a business and convention centre in the Tewantin area.
Cr Brian Stockwell said the small, 150 sqm office area for “affordable work spaces” would “not be a threat to the integrity of other [short-term office rental] sites” in Noosa Junction, Noosa Civic and Tewantin, while deputy mayor Frank Wilkie said the office component would only take up 14% of the gross floor area.
Cr Stewart said Noosa should be attracting the “entrepreneurial spirit” of people looking to start up new businesses, and having both accommodation and office space on the same site met that requirement.
The applicant also sought to allow the gym to open for general commercial use, which has been agreed to on a limited basis.
The recommendation will be formally voted on at Thursday’s Ordinary Meeting.
