Key commercial lease sites for The Spit revealed as talks with developers delayed

Key State Government sites have been identified for commercial lease on The Spit, but Gold Coast City Council may be holding back.

SEVERAL key State Government sites have been identified for commercial lease on The Spit, but talks with developers will be delayed as council seeks more public consultation.

The Bulletin can reveal the sites are in three key areas – south of the Sea World car park, north of Palazzo Versace, south of Sheraton Mirage on the beachfront, and neighbouring both sides of the Southport Yacht Club.

A map was provided by council officers in a briefing to the council’s planning committee meeting yesterday. It confirms The Spit’s northern end will be a green central park.

The council has been given a ministerial direction to make planning amendments within the next six months, and develop a process to fit the State’s request for a three-storey height limit.

But council officers, aware there will be an extended period with the local government poll during which the council goes into caretaker mode, came back to councillors with three options.

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A map was provided by council officers in a briefing to the council’s planning committee meeting yesterday.

Council could meet the deadline with a “minor amendment”, complete the planning with one round of consultation by September or conduct two rounds leaving a December finishing date.

The Government is under pressure by theme park operators, who are playing a major role in funding The Spit’s $60 million makeover. They have given the Government a June deadline to sort out the leases.

Councillors unanimously voted that a six-month timeframe was “unlikely” and asked CEO Dale Dickson to write to State Development Minister Cameron Dick indicating eight months was more achievable.

Councillor Peter Young said the Government had a “definite intent” on what it wanted on The Spit and it should be left to the State to determine if it supported public notification.

But council planning chair Councillor Cameron Caldwell said the reason for the short timeframe was to resolve sites “before the State election”.

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The Spit master plan with a cruise ship terminal.

Cr William Owen-Jones told the meeting: “So we want public consultation, they want time lines so they can get financial closure and some public transaction they want to undertake. “They want planning certainty they so they can add value to get sale. They control the property and have controlled the property forever, they don’t want certainty for any other reason that they want to enhance the value they get from their sites.”

Outside the meeting, Cr Caldwell agreed council remained the “front door” for development applications and would manage the assessment process as development occurs.

“Council has indicated its willingness to act on the request of the State Government but we felt that the six-month timeframe was unlikely to be achieved. We also felt that public consultation was an important part of ensuring The Spit master plan was implemented according to the community’s expectations,” he said.