Inside story: How to stop Burleigh Heads from becoming a mini- Surfers Paradise

Burleigh is fast tracking towards becoming a mini-Surfers Paradise. As fast as light rail is being built south from Broadbeach. So how do you stop it from becoming Braw-leigh?

Burleigh is fast tracking towards becoming a mini-Surfers Paradise. As fast as light rail is being built south from Broadbeach. So how do you stop it from becoming Braw-leigh?

The Thin Blue Line series put a spotlight on the confidential Queensland Police Service’s Working for Queensland Survey highlighted the worst morale among our cops.

The most burnt out cops were on patrol at Burleigh and Southport.

QPS senior management is currently investigating how to resource those areas for the future.

Top cops know a solution is not immediate and simple, and beyond just getting more cops.

Dr Terry Goldsworthy from Bond University, as a first step has called for a police beat at Burleigh, located in James Street, to operate on the weekends and late in the evenings.

Billy Dean Fallon (shirtless) attacks a cleaner at Nightjar in Burleigh Heads in January this year. Picture: Supplied

“Burleigh has gone to being a service-based industry little village to a very popular nightspot. I drive past The (Burleigh) Pavilion and queues are 30 to 40 metres,” he says.

“You have Coolangatta, Broadbeach and Surfers as the nightclub precincts. Very shortly Burleigh will have to be declared one. That’s even more so when you get the light rail stopping at Burleigh.”

What does the community think about this? The light rail debate at Burleigh appears to have moved on from a red light. Its more about – let’s face the reality, the trams are coming, how do we deal with the inconvenience and cost.

A queue outside Burleigh Pavilion. Picture by Richard Gosling.

Some residents now want the trams to go to Coolangatta so this is not the “end of the line”.

So here are the big questions for Burleigh residents and retailers:

* Is creating a police beat, or turning the old CIB headquarters west of the retail area into a Burleigh police station with the equivalent number of uniform officers the solution.

* Should its policing district become part of Broadbeach extending south, rather than Palm Beach extending north. Police sources suggest Palm Beach officers are reluctant to cross the Tallebudgera Creek.

* Should it become a Safe Night Precinct like Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach.

A police source says: “The development of the Burleigh foreshore and precinct is unprecedented, in terms of the violence and crime. The Palm Beach station is on the southern border of the division, Burleigh is the northern border.

Dr Terry Goldsworthy — police beat needed in Burleigh. Pic by Richard Gosling

“It’s common sense for Burleigh to have its own police station. You could develop the CIB office to have its own uniform component. “

Some police believe making Burleigh a safe night precinct gives them reassurance of back up and greater powers.

“If you see some lunatic (at nightclubs), you can ban them,” the police source said.

But a community leader cautions it will only make Burleigh become a mini-Surfers faster in terms of licensed venues and take police from the suburbs.

Beautiful Burleigh. Photo: Tourism & Events Queensland.

“It will open the flood gates (for more nightclubs),” the community leader said.

The Norfolk Pines, headland and beautiful green and blue reach into the Creek feature regularly on national news. Burleigh needs to sort out its future before the main feature becomes a crime scene at the tram stop.

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Originally published as Inside story: How to stop Burleigh Heads from becoming a mini- Surfers Paradise