Fight against Burleigh Heads tower lands in court

Gold Coast residents are poised to fight a legal battle in a bid to stop a 13-storey beach tower with a list of reasons why they don’t want it in the area.

GOLD Coast residents are poised to fight a legal battle in a bid to stop a 13-storey beach tower which they say does not fit in with the “local identity”.

Burleigh Heads man Kenneth McIntyre has appealed the decision for council to approve the 25-unit, 13-storey tower on First Ave, Burleigh Heads – just a stone’s throw away from the proposed light rail station.

Mr McIntrye claims the Gold Coast City Council should not have given approval for the development by Velocity Property and that approval should be revoked.

The holiday home owner was one of 32 people to make an objection to the application during the public notice period.

Artist impression of a proposed tower planned for First Ave, Burleigh Heads by Velocity Property. Picture: Supplied

“The main reason I am taking them to court is that I am not satisfied with the Council and the Property Developer’s responses to legitimate concerns that have been raised,” he said.

In the court documents, Mr McIntyre claims the tram line is not enough reason for the high density project to be approved in a medium density area.

But the proposed tower block, if built, will be right next to a 15-storey building and near a 32-storey block of apartments on Second Ave.

In documents filed in the Planning & Environment Court, Mr McIntyre claims the proposed development “does not have access to high frequency public transport necessary to balance increased density and associated vehicle trips”.

Artist impression of a proposed tower planned for First Ave, Burleigh Heads by Velocity Property. Picture: Supplied

“(The proposed development) is not justified by the proposed light rail such that a high-rise building should be approved in a medium density area,” the court documents said.

The court documents go on to claim the building does not “reinforce local identity and sense of place” or “achieve an ordered and interesting local skyline”.

The tower is designed with a distinctive curl pattern which is said to be inspired by the ocean waves Burleigh is famous for.

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But the court documents claims those curls come too close to the already established towers.

“(The proposed development) provides a dominant and overbearing built form as a result of an imposing bulky design that fails to incorporate compliant setbacks and stepped articulation which serves to detract from local residential amenity,” the court documents said.

An artist’s impression of a proposed tower planned for First Ave, Burleigh Heads, by Velocity Property. Picture: Supplied

The documents claim the design relies too much on ornamental screen to justify how close the buildings are, impacts on shadowing and blocks the breeze.

Lawyers for council and Velocity Developments have filed documents indicating they will fight the appeal but are yet to file a detailed response.