Southport Broadwater Parklands: $100m plan to expand waterside park and reroute highway

A $100m plan put forward to double the size of the Gold Coast’s biggest parklands and re-route one of the city’s busiest roads was unveiled, dividing the community.

SOUTHPORT’S Broadwater Parklands are one of the jewels of the city for locals and tourists alike.

More than $100m has been spent upgrading and expanding the waterfront precinct over the past 20 years to create the events space that exists today.

This month it will host 90s-era rockers The Smashing Pumpkins and Jane’s Addiction, plus the Gold Coast Show in August.

With more to come on the calendar, its major redevelopment, which began construction 15 years ago, has been a success.

The original artist impression of the parkland revamp.

First announced a year earlier, the giant new parklands was to replace the existing space and carpark with a community space which would “blend art, culture, an events precinct, children’s play areas and water features in what would become a stunning legacy to mark the state’s birthday”.

Initially dubbed “the people’s parklands”, the state government tipped $16m into the $32m project, which then-premier Anna Bligh declared would be the “Gold Coast’s answer to South Bank’”.

``I know it’s a place that locals love but it does need a bit of a facelift,’’ she said at the time.

``It’s going to be a great new place for the people of the Gold Coast.’’

Construction continued through 2008 and the parklands’ first stage opened in 2009 to mark Queensland’s 150th anniversary.

Chairman of the Committee of Southport John Howe. Picture by Scott Fletcher

Fast-forward to 2013 and it became clear the parklands would need to expand again if it was to host the major events the Gold Coast City Council envisaged holding there.

Enter the Committee for Southport, an advisory group to the council which a decade ago this week pitched a bold idea that would have dramatically reshaped the suburb.

The committee, headed by engineer John Howe, proposed re-routing the Gold Coast Highway through Marine Parade in front of Australia Fair t o allow for the parklands to double in size.

The cost of moving the highway and expanding the parklands was tipped to be $100M

The committee lobbied the Newman Government to approve the project so it could be completed in time for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

`Mr Howe said at the time it had the potential to become a `world-class’’ waterfront entertainment precinct.

The parklands as the appear today. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)

``This could be one of the world’s greatest entertainment precincts,’’ he told the Bulletin in April 2013.

``It would more than double the venue, which already attracts 10,000 during the weekend of the V8 Supercars when it hosts the rock concert.

``This would be a major win for the local community.

``This could be part of the legacy left from the Commonwealth Games.

``We support what the council did to the northern end of the Parklands and we’d like to see the southern end transformed.’’

The committee proposed the Big Day Out concert could relocate to the parklands along with the Gold Coast Show.

The parklands are today regarded as a jewel in the city’s crown.

However, it was not to be.

The state government had no political appetite for the project while the council could not fund an expansion of that size.

The Big Day Out festival folded the following year while the Gold Coast Show eventually did move to the parklands.

Meanwhile, the council unveiled its $5m stage 4 expansion of the parklands in 2019 which included a giant five-storey slide at its heart.

This was approved and it finally opened to the public in late 2022 after three years of work.

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