Residents gain powerful ally in Arundel Hills Country Club development fight

Hundreds of concerned residents have been told to prepare for a legal fight to stop the proposed redevelopment of the former Arundel Hills Country Club.

Sam O'Connor MP, Jason Young and Michelle Young at Sunday’s community meeting. Picture: Richard Gosling

Residents fighting a proposed $150m overhaul of a derelict former golf course have gained a powerful ally in Bonney MP Sam O’Connor.

The LNP environment spokesman voiced his opposition to a proposal to transform the former Arundel Hills Country Club site into a green housing development called Arundel Estates.

Mr O’Connor, whose electorate takes in the golf course site, facilitated a community meeting attended by hundreds of concerned residents at Arundel State School on Sunday.

“I’m against (the proposal) in its current form. I think it is completely inappropriate, it is not a good fit for the area and the scale of it is way too large,” he said.

“Ultimately, we would like to see the area become a golf course again.

“The main thing for me is protecting the environmental values as much as possible.”

(L-R) Sam O'Connor MP, Jason Young and Greg Williams. Picture: Richard Gosling

Sunday’s meeting was organised by the Arundel Golf Club Community Reference Group.

Group spokesman Jason Young told attendees to prepare for a possible legal fight to stop the proposed development.

“The size of the task ahead to fight this proposal is huge,” Mr Young said.

“We will take time to go through the necessary council assessment processes and possible legal challenges beyond that.

“It is likely we will have to raise a lot of money for our own legal representation and our own experts to build a case against the developers’ proposal so that we can preserve this natural green space.”

Area councillor Ryan-Bayldon Lumsden and Gold Coast City Council planning chair Cameron Caldwell attended the meeting to answer resident questions about the development application process.

Arundel Estate's indicative master plan for the former Arundel Hills Country Club site. Picture: supplied

Cr Bayldon-Lumsden said council officers were in the early stages of assessing the proposal and the area remained zoned for sport and recreation uses.

“What we’re not here to do at this stage is talk on a council position, because at this point, one doesn’t exist,” he told the meeting.

“It’s so early in the assessment process, officers do need to progress through that more formally.”

A masterplan submitted to the council by developers a month ago earmarked 32 per cent of the site for low-density detached housing.

Developer Dale Carroll said the remaining 68 per cent flagged for parks, recreation, wetlands and public open space would include a timber boardwalk, playground facilities, public barbecue areas, and yoga platforms.

Around 44 per cent of the 67ha site would be gifted to the council and free for the public to use, he said.