Poor sign placement blamed for backlash over King’s Christian College expansion
A poorly placed sign has been blamed for sparking community division over a proposed school sports field on the Gold Coast. SEE THE PLANS
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A poorly placed sign has been blamed for sparking community division over a proposed school sports field.
King’s Christian College is seeking Gold Coast City Council’s approval to expand its facilities with a new athletics track and sports field at its Reedy Creek campus.
The proposal also includes plans for a car park.
The track and field would be open for public use on weekends, if approved and the majority of it would be developed on 1.6ha of school-owned land.
Some council-owned easements and small areas next to the school’s property would also be used.
The proposal sparked heated debate among residents in a Mudgeeraba Facebook community group, with some praising it and others concerned about more development.
Nearby resident Glennis Ford said she had concerns about it.
“I think any sort of change to the environment is going to affect the wildlife,” she said.
“It will be interesting to see how many trees do get removed.”
But school spokesman Stephen Wruck said the placement of a sign advertising the proposed development had “misled” residents into thinking the field would disturb the nature reserve next to Eden View Drive.
Division 9 Councillor Glenn Tozer confirmed the development would not impact the reserve.
Another nearby resident with children attending the school, Melanie McKnight, has thrown her support behind the proposal.
She said students were forced to travel to other sports centres for soccer games and athletics due to a lack of space.
“It’s a huge issue and it’s an issue that is getting bigger,” Ms McKnight said.
“It’s going to be open space, not a building.
“The school needs to grow.”
Mr Wruck said the school had been planning the development for many years.
“Any school will tell you they would want more sports fields,” he said.
“We have a program of interschool sport, physical education is part of our curriculum and having those sports fields is a really important part of school life.”
Submissions for the application close on December 17.
The council’s planning committee will review the project in 2022.
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