Gold Coast Fishermen’s Co-Op faces lease battle, supporters campaign to save iconic Spit shop
One of the Gold Coast’s most popular and iconic tourist attractions is dead in the water unless the government resolves its lease, as supporters launch a campaign to keep it afloat.
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THE city’s popular Gold Coast Fishermen’s Co-operative, is dead in the water unless State Government sorts a lease row.
A letter to State Development Minister Cameron Dick warns bureaucratic red tape is threatening the future of the co-op on The Spit.
It told Mr Dick failure by the department to resolve the lease meant the co-op was in an “unsustainable position in terms of failed infrastructure and now on the verge of bankruptcy”.
“I could not understand the total lack of any desire on behalf of State Development to sit down and address our situation,” a co-op supporter wrote.
Bulletin photos show the site next to Marina Mirage and the Palazzo Versace, where fresh seafood can be bought by tourists and residents, is an eyesore with overloaded rubbish bins and rusted waterfront infrastructure.
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Fishermen were stunned by a recent newspaper report saying their site was among a handful being considered by the Government to place on the commercial market, when the Southport Yacht Club has been granted $2 million by Labor for a superyacht facility.
The letter from co-op supporters to Mr Dick said the development approval process could take at least 18 months followed by a year of construction.
“Problem solved, co-op bankrupt, fresh seafood gone, site bulldozed. Fishing boats kicked out,” the co-op supporter wrote.
Gold Coast Fishermen’s Co-operative director Richard Hamilton confirmed after 50 years of operations, the lease was due to expire in April.
“The State Government treats us as an irritation rather than a unique attraction, and refuses to discuss our future and is now calling on developers to redevelop the site,” Mr Hamilton said.
“We had a go, but once again big money is the winner. Thank you to all the wonderful customers we have met.”
Co-op clients in comments on Facebook strongly back a campaign for trawlers to stay.
“Best seafood in Australia. Please do not kick them away,” a client wrote.
Mr Dick said sales of live seafood direct to the public by fishing fleets on The Spit was a much-loved Coast institution.
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“The Spit Master Plan provides that Carters Basin will continue to accommodate the local fishing fleet enabling the daily catch to be sold directly to the public,” he said.
“The plan supports renewal of the facilities associated with the fishing fleet including improved pedestrian and cyclist access along the waterfront.”
Mr Dick said officers from several departments were engaged with the Gold Coast Fishermen’s Co-operative and providing help for an extension of their lease.
“The Spit Master Plan was developed in consultation with the Gold Coast community over 18 months and won a Planning Institute of Australia Queensland award for best community consultation on a major project,” Mr Dick said.
“The fishermen’s co-op have been part of the consultation process from the start and were invited to attend all workshops.
“Government will continue to engage with all key stakeholders, including the fishermen’s co-op to deliver the Master Plan, designed by and for the community, to create something special for this much-loved area of the Gold Coast.”