Artist impression of the Coochin Creek Holiday Resort. Source: Rob Comiskey.
A 150-site waterfront resort with cabins, camping, pools and a water park is now under construction south of Caloundra.
Comiskey Group director Rob Comiskey announced the construction milestone on Sunday, saying the family-owned developer had begun work on what he described as the Sunshine Coast’s largest waterfront holiday resort.
The project, at the end of Roys Road near the Pumicestone Passage, was approved by the Queensland Government in January after a lengthy planning process.
What is planned for Coochin Creek Holiday Resort?
The approved resort spans about 43–45 hectares and includes 75 cabins and 75 camping and caravan sites. Planning documents also show a substantial list of resort-style facilities aimed largely at families and drive-tourism visitors.
- heated main pool and jacuzzi spa
- swim-up bar
- water park with slides and tipping bucket
- kids’ wading pool and playground
- mini golf
- pump track
- tennis, basketball, pickleball and bocce courts
- gym, arcade and children’s playroom
- restaurant, bar, coffee shop and camp kitchens
- powered caravan and RV sites, plus cabin and villa accommodation
The State Government approval was issued with 95 conditions covering matters including environmental protection, traffic, utilities and bushfire safety. The development sits near the Pumicestone Passage and adjoining conservation areas, which have been at the centre of community concerns about the broader Coochin Creek development.
The resort is part of a much bigger Coochin Creek plan
The holiday resort sits beside Coochin Fields, the Comiskey Group’s separately approved 155-hectare festival and events site.
Coochin Fields has approval for events of up to 35,000 people and has been pitched as a permanent large-scale home for major festivals, concerts and exhibitions on the Sunshine Coast.
Together with the Aura Hotel development at Caloundra, the projects represent a major expansion of the Comiskey Group’s footprint on the southern Sunshine Coast.
Environmental concerns remain
The resort and festival proposals have faced sustained opposition from environmental and community groups concerned about development within the Northern Inter-Urban Break, traffic, bushfire risk and impacts on the ecologically sensitive Pumicestone Passage catchment.
The Sunshine Coast Environment Council has continued to question changes to the tourist park’s conditions and has called for stronger environmental scrutiny of both developments.
Project planners say the resort footprint is concentrated on previously disturbed former agricultural land, with more than three hectares earmarked for native revegetation.
When will Coochin Creek Holiday Resort open?
No confirmed public opening date has been announced.
When the project was approved in January, the Comiskey Group said it hoped to have the resort operating within about two years. With earthworks now underway, the project has moved from planning into construction.
YELO will update this story as opening dates, bookings and new construction details are announced.
