Western suburbs set for development for hundreds of homes as Gold Coast’s housing growing pains continue

Two western suburbs have been identified as sites for hundreds of new homes as part of an investigation to help ease the Gold Coast housing crisis.

Two western Gold Coast suburbs have been identified as potential sites for hundreds of new homes as part of an investigation to help ease the city’s housing crisis.

Gold Coast City Council financial documents obtained by the Bulletin reveal more than $210,000 has been set aside this financial year to investigate land at Highland Park and Gaven North for new residential lots and dwellings.

If given the go-ahead, these sites will be among just a handful of new development zones within the city.

Development industry figures have welcomed the step saying it will take pressure off the city’s rapid dwindling greenfield development areas.

However, don’t expect to see classic house and land packages, with experts tipping a focus on high-density townhouses to accommodate the city’s growing population, which is expected to top 1 million people by 2041.

An aerial shot of the M1 at Gaven, near to where the development could take place.

In light of that projected population growth, a lack of housing on the Coast looms as a major headache for local authorities.

Zone Planning Group director David Ransom, a leading planning expert, in a recent interview with the Bulletin warned the city had less than three years until it ran out of land that could be developed for housing.

Director of Zone Planning Group David Ransom (left). Picture: Jerad Williams

Mayor Tom Tate, when asked about the city’s potential to grow the western suburbs, said it was critical to balance the need for new housing with open space and ensure future development zones had the necessary community infrastructure to be viable.

“It’s about housing affordability and that is going to be a key challenge in the next decade,” he said.

“The success of our city is no secret and people now realise that if they can work from home, they may as well call the Gold Coast home too.

“There is (land which can be developed there) but what we need to do is ensure community infrastructure is there, be it a dog park, community halls and waste depots.

“I don’t want us to build affordable housing without any kind of support, that’s not fair.”

The Gold Coast’s population is growing by more than 15,000 people annually, while the median house price now sits just below $1m.

The housing crisis is only worsened as the rate of tower development on the coastal spine slows on the back of skyrocketing construction costs which has sparked predictions that one in five high-rises currently before council will never be built.

The bulk of the city’s remaining housing stock is in the northern suburbs of Coomera and Pimpama, as well as the giant under-construction $1.5bn Skyridge estate at Worongary which will ultimately be home to 10,000 people.

However, Skyridge, which is under construction, will take 15 years to deliver.

UDIA CEO Kirsty Chessher-Brown warned the Gold Coast was facing a “severe” shortage of housing which was driving up real estate prices.

“There is a severe affordability issue which is unfolding across many parts of this state, especially since 2020 and what we are seeing is not unique to the Gold Coast but our key concern there is the insufficient diversity and supply of what is supposed to be getting delivered there,” she told the Bulletin.

“By 2041 we need to accommodate an extra 350,000 people and for our industry, this means delivering an extra 6600 dwellings per year to meeting the southeast Queensland benchmarks set by the state government.

“We know from development monitoring reports that the Gold Coast is below the four-year benchmarked and in fact only has a 1.7 year supply remaining.

“The inability of supply to move to the pipeline and for the dwellings to bd delivered is an issue.”