Gold Coast economy: Mayor proposes City Plan change to attract new business to Coast
A ‘significant’ change is proposed for the City Plan which could bring new business to the Gold Coast.
Council
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MAYOR Tom Tate has proposed new COVID-19 inspired incentives to attract businesses to relocate to the Gold Coast.
A “significant” amendment to the City Plan which would slash red tape for applications and make it easier for residential properties to be rezoned for businesses whose staff work from home.
Cr Tate said it was critical to restore confidence in the city as a place to do business and that “nimble” thinking was needed.
“We are not just going to be open for business but we need to be open to new business and let’s be clear, the ways of doing business will have changed because of coronavirus,” he said.
“We will need to moderate the City Plan so properties are properly zoned to allow people to work from home and we may see office clusters based out of residential properties near the light rail.
“Homes near our light rail will spring up as business clusters and it would welcome that.”
The proposed amendment to the City Plan would be similar to the council’s moves in 2012-13 to simplify the process of building granny flats on existing properties by creating incentives.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many companies to close their offices and have staff work remotely from home.
Cr Tate said he agreed with experts that this would become significantly more common in the wake of the social distancing.
The Mayor said the Gold Coast needed to be seen to new businesses as a place where lifestyle and work mixed well.
He talked up the Coast's high-speed fire optic cable which runs under the light rail rails and provides super-fast internet as a strong attractor for businesses.
“The Gold Coast is the best place to live as well as invest,” he said.
“We can beat others that way - be nimble and on the front foot.
“We can take a risk and see the rewards.”
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