Southport: Proposal for permeant Chinatown markets to boost suburb’s dining precinct

Southport’s Chinatown could be transformed into a vibrant hub of night markets and bustling street life under bold new proposals to revitalise the area. ALL THE DETAILS

Southport’s Chinatown could be transformed into a vibrant hub of night markets and bustling street life under bold new proposals to revitalise the area.

Long-serving local MP Rob Molhoek is urging councillors discussing a new masterplan to supercharge the Chinatown precinct by ripping up red tape for restaurants and shops and allowing them to trade on the street.

Mayor Tom Tate has backed the idea, saying a revitalised night life would result from the masterplanning of the Southport CBD.

Lunar New Year celebrations in Southport's Chinatown last week. Picture Glenn Hampson

Mr Molhoek is also calling for the creation a night-time market similar to that of Cairns, saying it would turn central Southport into a “must-visit” location for tourists.

“We have a Chinatown and we have done a lot of good things with it but it’s not finished, so we need to relax the local laws and exemptions in Southport and Chinatown so the traders can come out into the streets and activate them,” he said.

“In Young Street they’re not allowed to have displays out on the footpath whereas if you visit any other Chinatown in the world a key feature is the clutter, so I think that section of Davenport Street and Young Street, as well as parts of Scarborough St, should give an exemption to encourage traders to bring the business out to the street.

Rob Molhoek. Picture: Jerad Williams

“We’ve also staged a dialogue about creating a permanent night market in Southport which would make Chinatown a must-see, must-do destination for tourists.”

Mr Tate said the area showed great potential as a night-life venue.

“Last weekend’s Lunar New Year celebrations in Chinatown and other events throughout the year highlight the potential of the area that can harnessed through the Masterplan process,” he said.

Mr Molhoek said similar markets had proved popular in Cairns and other cities.

“It would be able to have lots of street food and whenever I go (to other night markets) they are always busy, so if we could create that kind of atmosphere, we could really make Chinatown somewhere that people who come here will really want to go.”

Mr Molhoek is also pushing for the former Southport Mall area on Nerang Street to be revamped, with steps taken to eliminate the homeless.

One of the busy markets held in Chinatown. Picture Glenn Hampson

“We need to activate the old Nerang street mall area and create an environment that is not friendly and conducive to homeless people hanging out,” he said.

“The simple answer would be to take the footpaths back to a standard width and put in angled parking down the northern side of the street so the whole streetscape could be activated.”

Patrick Hefferan, a director with Property Consulting firm Urbis, said revitalising Southport’s night-life would offer huge economic benefits.

“(We need) specialist locations for night-life development and streamlined approvals for proposals which clearly align with PDA requirements and market needs, particularly key worker housing, seniors housing, student accommodation, entertainment venues, A grade Office space, opportunities for low scale, opportunities for on street dining to activate streets should all be encouraged,” he said.

Mayor Tom Tate in Chinatown. Picture Glenn Hampson

“An increased police presence (would help) clean up the streets at night and allow the night time economy and live music, the Fortitude Valley model, (to occur), as well as allow for road closures for street festivals which have been a big success.”

A revised masterplan for Southport is being developed by the Gold Coast City Council and is expected to be unveiled in coming months before being implemented in 2026.

On Monday the Bulletin revealed how Mayor Tom Tate said proposals included changing rules to discourage developers from “land banking” prime land in the Southport CBD.

Under the “use it or lose it” proposal, development approvals would expire within a set time frame with no possibility of renewal – forcing developers into expensive new planning applications.

Soheil Abedian

The proposal has been backed by leading developer Soheil Abedian.

“The state of the development industry since Covid has globally changed and those who are in the industry, be it landowner or construction companies or developer are all guilty of greed,” he said.

“We have seen many newcomers come in, buy expensive blocks of land, get approvals which are not workable based on the needs of the city and hope they can flick it on.

“Experience has shown, no major developer is happy to work with an existing development of another party and this has created the great (property) shortage in this town.

“This is something the whole community all needs to work on what is the best solution to remove the speculation from this industry.”