Arundel Hills golf club $150m redevelopment in the bunker after councillors reject new plans
Gold Coast councillors have officially dumped the controversial redevelopment of the Arundel Hills Country Club but the saga is far from finished. FIND OUT WHY
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The fate of the $150m Arundel Hills Country Club redevelopment will be determined by the courts after Gold Coast councillors – with the backing of the state government – have dumped plans for the mega project.
An officer report debated by councillors at a special meeting on Tuesday included a notice from Deputy Premier and Planning Minister Jarrod Bleijie supporting the city’s request to remove a Temporary Local Planning Instrument (TLPI) introduced by former Minister Meaghan Scanlon.
Councillors were unanimous in their support, leading to a chorus of cheers from more than 100 members of the Arundel Hills Community Association who packed the gallery and foyer of the Evandale council chambers.
Mr Bjeijie who later spoke to residents said the “blame game” had to stop on the housing crisis with all levels of government to work together.
He accused Ms Scanlon of “riding roughshod on councils”.
“This site at Arundel Hills was always inappropriate – it was outside the planning scheme of what was going to be approved there,” he said.
“If she (Ms Scanlon) had taken community on a journey with her and had of consulted properly over the last couple of years, then I don’t think we would have had to make the decision we made and council made today.”
He added that housing went backwards in the past ten years under Labor.
“The waiting lists for social housing went up. So I’m not going to be lectured to by Meaghan Scanlon who was the worst housing minister we’ve had for a long time in Queensland and a bad state Labor government.”
Ms Scanlon told this masthead: ““Jarrod Bleijie says a lot of petulant things, but the facts tell the truth.
“The facts show there were less homes on average built, approved and commenced per quarter under the LNP when they were last in power and two weeks into their government, they are cutting housing projects again.
“The only result of this decision by the LNP to cancel 130 affordable homes is more housing stress for Gold Coasters.”
An updated report presented to councillors said the City opposed the development because it would see a loss of sport and recreation land impacting on the health of the community.
“That would contribute to an existing citywide deficiency in sport and recreation zoned land, which will continue to grow in time,” the report said.
Other concerns were traffic impacts and removal of environment for the koala population.
City Planning chair Mark Hammel earlier confirmed the original development application had sparked an appeal which was ongoing.
The next hearing in the planning court will be in March next year. He was applauded by residents when he added councillors had voted to “see it through”.
He said previous governments had failed in planning for population growth and called on the new LNP government to work with council to solve the housing crisis.
“I would summarise the response to the housing crisis so far as fairly pathetic,” he said.
Mr Hammel asked the new government to “not make kneejerk decisions and cut local government out of the process”.
Area councillor Joe Wilkinson asked all councillors to support the repeal, after locals including 2000 residents who made submissions were “devastated and heartbroken” by the original intervention.
Deputy Mayor Donna Gates, who chaired the meeting, said: “We’ve had great support from the new government. We welcome their involvement today.”
Arundel Hills Community Association leader Jason Young thanked the Deputy Premier and Mr O’Connor for acting so quickly on the issue.
“It just shows you that community action can have a ripple on effect right through to the state government, and I applaud the incoming LNP government for listening to our concerns, and the Gold Coast City Council as well,” he said.
Labor earlier this week targeted Mr O’Connor, saying it was a “bizarre” appointment because he campaigned to stop affordable housing at Arundel Hills.
Ms Scanlon, the former Housing, Planning and Local Government Minister, took aim at Mr O’Connor after he welcomed his LNP government’s decision to repeal her TLPI on the abandoned golf course site.
“One of the first acts of this LNP Government is to axe affordable housing,” Ms Scanlon told this masthead. “It’s bizarre that David Crisafulli has appointed a bloke who campaigned against affordable housing in his own community to be his housing minister.”
Developer 3 Group Consortium had planned to build almost 800 homes, above the 650 minimum set by Ms Scanlon, with at least 20 per cent to be “affordable”.
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