Waks Development has pulled the plug on its proposal to build a $60 million 160-home retirement village on Ferrero Road after the Council refused to rezone the rural land as residential.

Developer Steve Thomas, who has completed a number of projects around the Port Douglas area over the past 20 years, said he was forced to make the hard decision despite spending 10 years trying to get the project up and running.

However, without the rezoning, he said that they would not be able to offer locals an affordable retirement option at the prices they wanted to charge because the delays had blown out their timeframes and costs.

Mr Thomas says he now hopes another developer will step in to provide a suitable retirement village for the area.

Pictured: The site of the proposed retirement village in Port Douglas. Credit: Newsport