Coomera Adventure Parklands: First look at Gold Coast community attraction front Kerkin Road and Finnegan Way
Plans for the “Broadwater Parklands of the Gold Coast’s north” have been unveiled as the council pushes forward hundreds of millions of dollars of civic transformation.
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Plans for the “Broadwater Parklands of the Gold Coast’s north” have been unveiled as council pushes forward with hundreds of millions of dollars of civic transformation.
The Council will spend $10m to build the Coomera Adventure Parklands on a massive 70,750 sqm site which will front Kerkin Road and Finnegan Way.
Its features will include a new skate park, playground and picnic facilities, as well as an area for volleyball, exercise equipment and trampolines, slides and a large open space area.
Mayor Tom Tate said the project would be the northern equivalent of the Broadwater Parklands and be a major transformational piece of infrastructure.
He foreshadowed Gold Coast City Council plans to secure even more land for parklands in the suburbs of Coomera and Pimpama, among the fastest-growing residential areas in the country.
“This development in the north of our city is vital as the population continues to increase in suburbs like Pimpama, Coomera and Ormeau,’’ he said.
“Across the coast, we must stay ahead of the curve when it comes to acquiring land for future community sport fields and facilities.
“To do that, we have outlined a strategy to acquire hundreds of hectares of land, to be funded through successive budgets, so we continue to develop locations with first class sporting facilities across a broad range of sports.’’
Council lodged its plans for the project this week.
Planning documents reveal the city believe it will become a key community hub in the rapidly growing northern suburbs.
“It aims to support longer stays in the park and meet demand created by population growth,” a planning report reads.
“Coomera/Pimpama is one of the fastest growing areas on the Gold Coast and has an under-provision of appropriate recreation spaces and options for the high proportion of young people.
“Kerkin Road Adventure Parklands has been identified in the Local Government Infrastructure Plan (LGIP) to meet the demand created by population growth in accordance with the provisions of the Gold Coast City Plan.
Deputy Mayor and area councillor Donna Gates said it would become “a spectacular destination park”.
“There’s been an identified shortage of parkland at Coomera and the $10m development of the new adventure parkland is eagerly awaited,” she said.
“We’ve consulted significantly with local schools and people of all ages to ensure we deliver exactly what is necessary.”
Ms Gates said the parklands would have room for expansion and other features to be installed.
“It’s fantastic news that the Mayor has indicated his support to assist with funding for a pump track bike facility leaving additional funding for other infrastructure,” she said.
“The large environmental area to the rear will be retained and protected, but with a network of nature trails for walkers.
“It will have something for everyone and it can’t come quickly enough.”
It is the next step in a massive civic investment, both in community parklands and in key economic infrastructure in the city’s north.
Construction is already underway on the first stage of the 220ha Greenheart parklands which will stretch from Carrara to Robina and be two-thirds the size of New York’s Central Park, six times the size of the Southport Broadwater Parklands and on par with Sydney’s Centennial Parklands.
The city’s population growth, of around 15,000 people annually, is heavily centred on the northern suburbs.
An October 2023 report by property firm Colliers International revealed the Ormeau –Oxenford region will absorb an extra 103,000 people in the next by 2041 while Labrador and Biggera Waters will become home to an extra 35,000 people.
In the north, council is investing heavily to turn the area into a major employment hub which will create jobs for residents.
Among those projects is the plan to transform a 22ha council-owed site on Yatala’s Stanmore Road into a film studio.
The project, which council is negotiating to be built and operated by Shadowbox Studios, is expected to annually tip $195m into the city’s economy once built.
It is expected to be built by 2028.
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