Overview
Douglas Shire Council is developing a Foreshore Management Plan for Cooya Beach. It is one of five foreshore plans being developed; the others being Wonga Beach, Newell Beach, Four Mile Beach and Oak Beach.
What is a Foreshore Management Plan?
As the title suggests, it is a guide to the management of foreshore areas. The Cooya Beach plan will identify how the foreshore area can be managed to maintain the natural character of the area, as well as protecting the cultural, environmental, recreational and social values. It will inform dune protection, including weed species for removal and native vegetation species for regeneration. It will also inform future infrastructure and will take into consideration community input such as the request received in February for a pathway along the foreshore.
The Foreshore Management Plan will contain, among other things:
- Description of the vegetation types
- Description of fauna found along the foreshore
- Weed species list
- Audit of beach access points – formal and informal
- Dune protection activities such as revegetation and recommended plant species
- Maps which clearly define access points to the beach and priority area for revegetation.
The foreshore area includes the area from the highest astronomical tide inland to the edge of either a road reserve or residential property boundary (whichever is closest).
Cost of Project
Council has secured funding from the Queensland Government’s Reef Assist Program designed to create nature-based employment opportunities which delivering positive environmental outcomes.
Project Updates
April 2022
Five foreshore management plans will help protect the environmental values and improve the liveability of coastlines in Douglas Shire.
Douglas Shire Council has now adopted foreshore management plans for Wonga Beach, Newell Beach, Cooya Beach, Four Mile Beach and Oak Beach.
The Foreshore Management Plan for Cooya Beach can been viewed below.
May 2021
The Draft Foreshore Management Plan for Cooya Beach has now been released for public comment and a copy may be accessed at the link below.
There will be several opportunities for community members to talk to the Plan authors and details are listed below. A consultation session is planned for Tuesday 15 June 12:30pm to 3pm at Cooya Beach. Please Look for the Douglas Shire Council banner in the foreshore area where the playground equipment is opposite 13 Bougainvillea. People are welcome to attend any session to discuss any of the five the locations.
Comments are requested by Friday 25 June 2021 and may be emailed to Gaye Scott.
| Wonga Beach | Monday 14 June 5:30pm to 7pm | Wonga Beach State School – Resource Centre |
| Newell Beach | Tuesday 15 June 9:00am to 11:00am | Mossman Golf Club Meeting Room |
| Cooya Beach | Tuesday 15 June 12:30pm to 3:00pm | Foreshore Area – Playground area opposite 13 Bougainvillea |
| Four Mile Beach | Tuesday 15 June 5:00pm to 6:30pm | Port Douglas Community Hall |
| Oak Beach | Wednesday 16 June 11am – 2pm | Foreshore Area southern end of Oak Beach |
April 2021
A survey was released seeking information about how people used the foreshore, what they valued about it and their memories and knowledge. Over 300 people responded and the findings will be used to draft the foreshore management plan. The Draft Foreshore Management Plan will be released at a later date for comment and if you would like to receive an email when this occurs, please register your interest with Gaye Scott
March 2021
Douglas Shire Council has appointed Alluvium Consulting Australia Pty Ltd in collaboration with Wild Environmental to develop foreshore management plans for Newell Beach, Cooya Beach, Four Mile Beach, Oak Beach, and to revise the Interim Wonga Beach Foreshore Management Plan to produce a more detailed plan.
February 2021
A group of Cooya Beach residents wrote to Council requesting a walkway be built along the foreshore, to ease what they see as a dangerous situation which now exists with people and traffic sharing the roadway along the foreshore.
Those in wheelchairs, motorised scooters and parents with prams have no choice but to use Bougainvillea Street, because the existing vehicular track along the foreshore is too rough for wheeled vehicles or prams to use.
The residents were against a concrete track as this would not fit in with the appeal of the area it is to go through. The proposal would be for a compacted track that would blend in with the landscape as it meanders its way along the foreshore. This track could then be part of a wider network of tracks within the Douglas Shire for the use of not only residents but visitors as well. It could eventually hook up to the proposed bicycle track coming from Mossman out to Cooya Beach and beyond.
Community Consultation
There will be several opportunities for people to get involved in developing the Foreshore Management Plans. The first opportunity was a survey which closed 23 April 2021 and was completed by over 300 people and 11 community groups/organisations.
Later in the process, the draft Foreshore Management Plan will be released for public comment. There will be community drop in sessions in all five locations, and several virtual information sessions to provide an opportunity for people to talk to the consultants face to face and all details will be published on this page.
If you would like to register to receive an email when future opportunities arise, please contact the project’s Community Liaison officer.
Enquiries
For more information or if you have any questions, please contact Gaye Scott on 0418 793 009 or gaye.scott@douglas.qld.gov.au
