Gold Coast City Council planning committee backs Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park Surf Lifesaving Club extension and renovation

A popular Gold Coast surf club is due to undergo a radical overhaul.

A BURLEIGH Heads surf club has a green light to renovate the northern section of the venue with new restaurant facilities overlooking the beach.

Councillors at a planning committee meeting yesterday backed the changes after an officer’s report with designs showed how Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park Surf Lifesaving Club could be updated and remodelled.

Designs for the Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park Surf Life Saving Club.

The extensions across three storeys included extended outdoor dining area on the ground floor, a restaurant and bar extension on level one and a terraced area on level two.

The proposal received strong support from area councillor Pauline Young along with Robina-based councillor Hermann Vorster who argued strongly to preserve the areas’s Norfolk Pines at his “local beach”.

Norfolk Pines outside the Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park Surf Lifesaving Club.

Cr Vorster told councillors: “I just want to say I absolutely welcome this application. In my view the most under-cooked opportunity we have in the city economically and tourism wise are our surf clubs.

“Where else in Australia, really globally, could we have incredible beautiful views and food and beverage offerings on the beach? Where else could you get that?

“We have the bones of a really great tourism and community asset, and by supporting surf lifesaving clubs I think there is the potential of reaping economic benefits and exposing visitors to the city to something that is very culturally Gold Coast.

Proposed changes to the Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park Surf Lifesaving Club.

“I really hope this is the first of many development applications we see, and ultimately the benefits these operators derive are funnelled into the saving of lives on the beach.”

Outside the meeting, committee chair Cameron Caldwell said the application was for a “modest extension” and the committee had given recommendation to full council for approval.

Councillor Hermann Vorster — big supporter of renovating surf clubs. Photo by Richard Gosling.

“Importantly there is no loss of the iconic pine trees in that foreshore parking area. In fact we’ve conditioned that an extra four trees would be planted,” Cr Caldwell said.

“We also conditioned that the colours of the building be more in keeping with the foreshore environment.”