City Plan fears: ‘Surfers to Coolangatta cannot become a ‘concrete canyon’

A community group has warned of a ‘concrete canyon’ from Surfers to the border after council launched the next step in work on a plan for one million people on the Gold Coast.

A community group has warned the Gold Coast should not become a concrete tower city from Surfers Paradise to Coolangatta, as council ramps up consultation on the new City Plan.

Community Alliance leader John Hicks has welcomed the City’s announcement, on Wednesday, of panels representing residents and industry members meeting “under one tent”.

“From a community perspective we do not wish to see overdevelopment of the city. We want the planning to be responsible,” Mr Hicks said.
“Give us a liveable, leafy, subtropical city into the future. We do not wish to see the concrete canyon extended from Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach all the way to Coolangatta. There must be diversity in the coastal suburbs.”

Mr Hicks said the City should consider revising heights and lowering them at Palm Beach.

Community Alliance leader John Hicks speaking at previous City Plan forums. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

Deputy Mayor Mark Hammel welcomed input from the Alliance but hoped their representation would cover all suburbs and “not just those on the coastal strip”.

He said residents and industry representatives would be appointed to panels to create the City Plan which would see the Gold Coast accommodate one million people by 2046.

“This is definitely a new planning scheme that is being prepared – the population projections are out of our control, we can’t shut the gate to people coming to the Gold Coast,” he said.

“It’s all about how do we accommodate the dwellings and the jobs for those people.”

Mr Hammel rejected suggestions that Surfers Paradise-style towers would be in the south.

“I haven’t heard anyone suggest that – the last tower that was approved in Surfers Paradise was 300 metres tall. I haven’t heard any suggestion of anyone put anything like that anywhere in the south,” he said.

“We are doing 50 metres towers maximum in those areas, a little bit more height in Coolangatta. The current planning scheme supports the highest density and biggest towers being in Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach, and doesn’t envisage towers of that size outside those areas. There’s a step down.”

The “expressions of interest” campaign is open at gchaveyoursay.com.au/eoi. The deadline to make submissions is May 14. The groups will begin to meet mid-year. They include:

* A Community Reference Group – a 20-person group of “diverse representation of community members” from across the city that will meet in person.

* An Industry Reference Group – a 20-person group of professionals from the property, construction, planning and development industries who regularly interact with the current and previous planning schemes.

* A Community Insights Panel – an online panel of 300 people representing the wider community.

Cr Mark Hammel talks about City Plan consultation. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

Earlier council surveying as part of preparing the new City Plan found residents at Palm Beach, Surfers Paradise and Labrador believe one million people living on the Coast within two decades is “unthinkable” and challenging.

But younger residents welcomed “inland” developments which would freshen up older suburbs with high rises around new retail and commercial precincts.

State government targets for southeast Queensland will see the Coast accommodate 388,000 new residents by 2046 and require 161,100 new homes and 173,800 extra jobs.

Cranes on Main Beach, Gold Coast. Picture: Glenn Campbell

The City’s aims for new homes in the west and north have been stalled, with councillors late last year instead looking to funnel population growth into the light rail corridor to Burleigh.

An estimated 30,000 dwellings could be built in the Stage 3 corridor from Broadbeach to Burleigh over 20 years.

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