Noosa Hinterland Villages by Pomona & District Chamber of Commerce

22/09/2024

HINTERLAND TO BE PART OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT STRATEGY PLANNING
A concerted campaign by Northern Hinterland residents to have the boundary extended for a study into the future public transport needs of areas north of Cooroy have paid off, with a Transport and Main Roads spokesperson confirming that the rail and bus services connecting Pomona, Cooran and surrounding areas will be examined as part of consideration around a draft strategy to be released in February 2025 and a final report to follow in June next year.
Service planning activities are undertaken to assist network planners in the development of a three-five year rolling program of network improvements. The service planning focusses on opportunities to expand, improve, or optimise the existing public transport network to meet incremental changes in community travel needs.
Residents expressed their frustration at the arbitrary cut-off point for the study area being the northern urban boundary of Cooroy and told the department so on an interactive map made available as part of the consultation process:
https://www.yoursay-projects.tmr.qld.gov.au/northern-sunshine-coast-public-transport-strategy/northern-sunshine-coast-public-transport-strategy-interactive-map
Consultation opened on 1 November 2023 and closed on 21 January 2024. The TMR spokesperson said that, following complaints and representations from Noosa Council and the State Member for Noosa, Sandy Bolton, the study area now would be widened.
Ms Bolton had urged her constituents thus: “Please do not limit your feedback to the area covered in the interactive map on the consultation website as the Northern Strategy is complementary to the Southern Sunshine Coast Strategy, which focuses on areas to the south of us that are instrumental to our commutes to Brisbane and beyond.”
Those conducting the study were cooperating with Noosa Council and the TMR North Coast Region office to gather information relevant to the strategy preparation, the spokesperson said. Members of the public wanting to have their say can submit ideas to TMR via [email protected].
A further round of consultation will be sought in February-March next year once the interim draft report is released.
The Northern Sunshine Coast Public Transport Strategy will set out TMR's vision for a future public transport system for the northern Sunshine Coast area that all levels of government can work towards.
There is strong public support for more trains running between Nambour and Gympie North and better coordination of the Nos. 630, 631 and 632 buses with improved rail services. The sentiment was reinforced during the recent Pomona Placemaking Plan consultation. Noosa Council has been in discussion with TMR about a bus/rail interchange at Cooroy.
Until now, TMR had ignored pleas, arguing on its website: “The northern Sunshine Coast, between the Maroochy River and Noosa River, is not expected to accommodate the very high levels of population, employment, and other transformational land use changes that we will see in the southern Sunshine Coast over the next 20 years. The northern Sunshine Coast is not likely to require substantial structural change to the current network or its infrastructure.”
It caved in to examining the transport needs of the Northern Noosa Hinterland after locals demanded to be heard.
More information: https://www.yoursay-projects.tmr.qld.gov.au/northern-sunshine-coast-public-transport-strategy

13/09/2024

PUMPED HYDRO POWER EIS TERMS SETTLED
The proposed $14.2 billion Lake Borumba pumped hydro electricity project will need to pass a set of strict environmental impact and assessment evaluations before it is given the green light for construction to begin. If given approval, the project will employ 2360 people and will generate its first green energy in 2030. It will be located near Imbil in the Mary Valley.
On Friday 16 August, Queensland Hydro was advised by the Office of the Coordinator-General that the Terms of Reference for the Project Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) had been finalised. The Terms of Reference (TOR) is a project-specific document that outlines what needs to be assessed and evaluated as part of the regulatory approvals process. Queensland Hydro will now undertake detailed studies to meet the TOR. A copy of the TOR can be found by clicking here.
In June 2023, the Queensland Government announced funding worth $6 billion to progress the Borumba Pumped Hydro Project.
Meanwhile, progress is being made on Seqwater’s Lake Macdonald upgrade. The dam improvement project involves building a new split-level concrete spillway and upper labyrinth and reconstructing the existing earth embankments.
The work was required following a comprehensive technical review undertaken in 2021 and 2022. The new optimised design will increase the dam’s capacity to withstand extreme weather events while also ensuring the dam remains operational during construction for water security and some recreation activities. This will be the first major upgrade of Lake Macdonald Dam since its original construction in 1965. Importantly, more than 150 local jobs are expected to be created over the life of the project.
Lake Borumba in the Mary Valley will be transformed into a pumped hydro power storage facility with the addition of a new dam wall on the main impoundment and another dam in the hills, allowing water to race through a spinning turbine, generating on-demand electricity.

12/09/2024

POMONA CHRISTMAS FAIR UPDATE
Progress continues on organisation of the Pomona Street Fair and night time markets to be held in December. A small sub-group of the Pomona and District Chamber of Commerce has been busy and invitations opened for stallholders wishing to take part.. See: https://pomonadistrictchamber.com.au/pomona-christmas-street-fair
This year, a ‘tradie alley’ is planned, where local tradespeople can promote themselves. There will be cooking demonstrations also, headed by chef Matt Golinski.
Live music performances again will be a feature of the night and Noosa District State High School has been contacted to see whether musical students would want to busk for a few dollar donations. Santa has the event in his diary too.

12/09/2024

SUPPORT COORAN’S TALL TREES FESTIVAL
Cooran’s annual art extravaganza – the Tall Trees Art Exhibition – is on again on the weekend of 21 and 22 September 2024, showcasing the diverse talents of Cooran and surrounding Sunshine Coast artists. It has been a fixture in the greater Sunshine Coast arts scene since 2011. This year’s Tall Trees Art Exhibition will take place at 12 venues all along King Street, the main street in Cooran, and will be a real collaboration between local businesses, artists and the community.
- Opening ceremony, 10am, 21 September, Cooran Memorial Hall
- Evening event, 5pm to 8pm, 21 September at hall and surrounds
The exhibition is proudly presented by Tall Trees Art Inc. More information here:
www.talltreesart.com or contact [email protected]

A collective of Artists that come together to exhibit their creative expression. Annual Art Exhibtion is held, life drawing, workshops are offered by memebrs locally to Noosa Hinterland.

11/09/2024

MENS SHED PLANS EXPANSION
Following a long and sometimes frustrating delay while tenure of the land on which Mens Shed Pomona was sorted, the group is set to advance plans for expansion, thank to a Noosa Council Community Grant. The money will be used to prepare a masterplan for the site in School Street.
“This grant allows us to address space limitations and plan for the future,” said Mens Shed grants officer, Ross Muller. “We can now expand our workshops and create dedicated quiet spaces where members can sit and talk. It’s an exciting step forward for our community.”
The mens shed has 31 members, with more eager to join, and is financially stable.

11/09/2024

POMONA PLACE PLAN NEARS COMPLETION
The Pomona Place Plan – now 18 months in the making – is expected to be considered by Noosa councillors at their October meeting, but not before it is presented to the local community in draft form for a final round of feedback.
The place plan is a first for Noosa Shire, a pilot that will guide how Noosa Council will engage with other communities about the ‘look and feel’ of their towns and suburbs. Place planning is separate from town planning in that it focuses on paths, trees, parks, street frontages and how residents interact with the public spaces they share. Kin Kin will be the next ‘place town’, the council has decided.
While formulation of the Pomona Place Plan has taken longer than expected, the extra time expended was due in part to an extended public engagement process in two stages and consideration around how the place plan implementation will occur. The council explains this will be a ‘co-led’ process over 10 years or more, meaning the council and local groups will work under a partnership model to bring it to fruition.
It can now be revealed that the means whereby this will happen is a so-called ‘town teams’ outlook adopted in more than 150 towns around the world.
https://www.townteammovement.com/town-teams
The people of Pomona participated enthusiastically in the place planning interaction at a level higher than the mean average for a community our size, the council says. In total, more than 500 people joined in across a range of engagement events including an online and hard copy survey, five ‘pop-ups’ around Pomona village, two ‘walkabout’ sessions with planners, three urban sketching workshops, ‘love letters’ from the community to Pomona, email submissions and targeted stakeholder and community organisation workshops.
You can stay updated about the Pomona Place Plan through this link:
https://yoursay.noosa.qld.gov.au/pomona-placemaking-pilot
Here is how the people of Ipswich, Queensland, are cooperating to make their unique place plan come alive using the town teams model:
https://www.facebook.com/people/Ipswich-Central-Partnership/100075544197976

10/09/2024

MORE FUNDING FOR BIOSPHERE TRAILS UPGRADE
In news that strengthens further the Noosa Northern Hinterland district’s credentials as a sustainable, nature-based tourist destination, the Australian Government Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts has announced Growing Regions Program funding for upgrades to the Noosa Biosphere Trails.
The Growing Regions Program supports local government entities and incorporated not-for-profit organisations to deliver capital works projects in regional and rural Australia that support community socio-economic outcomes and regional priorities.
The Noosa Trails latest allocation is $1.6 million.
The project is a continuation of the Masterplan delivery and includes upgrades to 46km of existing trail network linking Cooran, Kin Kin and Lake Macdonald, primarily Trail 3 (Woondum) and Trail 4 (Wahpunga). Works will include new trail sections; improved drainage; surface repairs and rehabilitation; and new wayfinding signage, fencing, gates and shelters.
The Noosa Biosphere Trails are located in the Noosa hinterland and are a popular destination for horse-riders, walkers, runners and bike riders. The trails pass through forests, mountains and rural landscapes offering a diversity of experiences for users. Development of the new trail maps and field guides are currently underway.

22/08/2024

𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐈𝐋 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐅𝐅 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐀𝐑 𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐇 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐂𝐎𝐎𝐑𝐎𝐘

A majority of Noosa councillors has voted to overturn a staff recommendation to reject a development application for a car wash and food and drink outlet on a 2013 sq m site in Elm Street Cooroy – between two existing service stations – with the Mayor and Deputy Mayor making pleas that the complex was contrary to long-term planning for the town centre.

Five councillors felt that the community benefit the eco-friendly car wash would deliver outweighed reasons staff gave for recommending rejection, on the basis that the proposal was inconsistent with the planning scheme. It was more suited to an industrial zone, staff said.

They raised traffic concerns to and from the site, and had reservations about the building of a wall 19.4-metres long and seven metres – or two storeys – high behind the facility.

The developer, Kings Group Pty Ltd, has strong community backing for the carwash, which will be a ‘first’ for the hinterland. Five hundred submissions to the council favoured the development. Nineteen people objected. The site is vacant, having been the location of an old motel, since demolished.

Mayor Frank Wilkie attempted to delay the council’s consideration of the application while council staff negotiated with town planners for the applicant to resolve outstanding traffic management issues. His procedural motion was rejected.

Cr Amelia Lorentson told her fellow councillors: “Despite presenting a zoning conflict and non-compliance with the planning scheme, the proposed car wash warrants approval if it can be demonstrated that the public interest is better served by approving the application.”

A majority of councillors were of the view that:

• There is a strong level of economic, community and planning need for the development in this location.
• There currently is no car wash provided within Cooroy and the Noosa Hinterland.
• The proposed development will provide community benefit.
• The proposed development accords with reasonable community expectations, given the significant number of submissions in support that have been received.
• There will be significant environmental benefits for a car wash to be provided in the location.

14/08/2024

PREPARE FOR THE BUSHFIRE SEASON
Prepare for the bushfire season!
Local councils are the first point of call Queenslanders should turn to for information and direction at the time of a natural disaster. They will assist you with up-to-date information on everything you need to know including evacuation centre openings and locations, river heights, road conditions and closures, power and phone outages. Go to the Noosa Council Disaster Dashboard for more information. Visit the website: https://disaster.noosa.qld.gov.au

13/08/2024

NOOSA SHOW HOLIDAY
Don’t forget, in one short month, Friday 13 September is a public holiday in Noosa Shire, for the Noosa Country Show. The show will be held over two days, 13 and 14 September, with the theme being ‘cartoon’. Show attendees can look forward to a variety of cartoon-themed attractions. One of the main highlights will be the Grand Parade, showcasing an array of creatively designed cartoon-themed floats. These
floats are being crafted with care and imagination by members of the hinterland’s talented community, ensuring a unique and engaging experience for everyone.

11/08/2024

OPPORTUNITY TO INCREASE HINTERLAND’S DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE CAPABILITY
Training for disaster preparedness on offer – for free. ‘Plan C’ – a not-for-profit group based in the Northern Rivers District of NSW that supports crisis management skills embedded in community, as well as prevention and preparedness for disaster – is
looking to extend its services to areas within the Mary River Catchment, including Maryborough, Gympie and Noosa. So far the group has trained 300 Community Carers and Responders in the local government areas of Ballina, Byron, Clarence Valley, Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley and Tweed. Volunteers undergo training over five days to then form a connected network of leaders dedicated to community cohesion
and resilience. Nicole Harper, the CCR project manager, explained that those taking part received training that addressed self-care, disaster resilience, community building, emergency communications as well as food, water, and energy security. Also included are a day of first aid instruction and another day of psychological first aid. “Upon graduation, participants receive a CCR cap, T-shirt and solid first-aid kit, and are then mentored to lead a project that builds the resilience of their own community,” Ms Harper said. “They are regularly invited to additional workshops, community events, and field visits in order to to deepen their knowledge, but also connections with each other.”
Ms Harper said Plan C had opened applications to the CCR program locally, funded by Country to Coast Queensland with support from the Australian Government’s Primary Health Network Program. Apply at https://www.planc.org.au/ccr-apply

10/08/2024

Responses to the community survey seeking views about the proposed expansion of the IGA Pomona store exceeded those for the Pomona Placemaking Plan and revealed that many of the 736 participants frequent the store out of a strong desire to ‘support the local economy’, those attending the July general meeting of the PDCC were told.
Guest speaker was Russell Green of RG Strategies, town planners working with the Zipf family on the proposed redevelopment, which is yet to be submitted formally to Noosa Council for consideration. The placemaking consultation revealed strong loyalty to Pomona’s family-style businesses. The IGA expansion onto the adjacent block towards the fire station will create an extra 35 parking spaces in town, while its design will be in keeping with Pomona’s colonial character architecture. No other retail spaces would be provided, just IGA, Russell Green said. While the store would be bigger, it would not be
as big as the Cooroy ‘Supa-IGA’. In effect, an additional two aisles for grocery lines would be created, but this would allow for more specialty goods to be provided.
The Pomona and District Chamber of Commerce supports the project, as do 81 per cent of those who took part in the survey. Only 11.65 per cent said ‘no’. Strong feedback focused on the need for a sensitive design, which will now be refined. The plans include a mural. Mr Green said a stronger, more diverse IGA would encourage more community members to shop locally, thereby benefiting the entire Pomona economy. “This project aligns with the community’s desires expressed in the Pomona Place Plan, preserving our town’s unique character while providing modern conveniences,” he said. The survey sought to target the under-30 cohort, although there was a higher response from those
above this age (e.g. 312 responses from those aged 65 plus). The home town of those who took part is interesting – 51.23 per cent were from Pomona, just over 16 per cent were from Cooran, seven per cent from Kin Kin and five per cent from Cootharaba. A further 1.5 per cent were from Boreen Point. This shows the drawing power of the Pomona IGA. The survey participants said they took advantage of their grocery shop visits (usually 2-3 days per week) to do business with other retailers in Pomona. The
IGA is the linchpin of the local economy, the survey confirmed. The survey also revealed that 88 per cent of shoppers came to the Pomona IGA for its ‘convenience of location", while almost 60 per cent said they wished to "support local businesses".