Bob Ell: Billionaire Leda Group boss claims small koala population and federal government for stalling Coomera development

Billionaire Bob Ell is blaming one small thing for holding up a giant housing development and thousands of critically-needed homes in a blistering attack on the federal government.

Billionaire Bob Ell is blaming six koalas for holding up a giant housing development and thousands of critically-needed homes in a blistering attack on federal government.

The Leda boss, with 50 years in the development game, said he could build 4000 houses and units “tomorrow” if federal government allowed relocation of the native animals from his Coomera site.

Mr Ell and son Robert bought 161ha at George Alexander Way and Cunningham Dr in a multi-sale transaction on April 28 2023 for nearly $200m. It’s understood to be the Gold Coast’s biggest-ever land deal.

The site, known as Coomera Quarter, sits between Coomera Rivers State School and the heavy rail line, south of Pimpama State Secondary College.

Bob Ell

Mr Ell urged the government to work with him to help alleviate the housing crisis.

“The state has offered no assistance to date with our dealings with Canberra, even though they recognise the strategic importance of the project in delivering housing to this region by granting approvals already, as have the council,” he said.

“We have an approved site where approximately six koalas are holding up the development of a project that could house 10,000 people.

“Our plans include higher-density apartments and regular homes, key worker housing, and affordable and social housing opportunities - we have a project that can deliver all these things right next to public transport, schools, and the new Coomera Hospital, and all of it is possible under the existing approvals.

“The reality is the koalas could be quickly and effectively rehomed elsewhere with far greater chances of survival than if they stay on this site - the site is surrounded by urban development and schools to the immediate north and east, the Gold Coast rail line to the west and the Coomera Train station, and the construction of the new Coomera Hospital to the immediate south.”

Map of Coomera Quarter, a 161ha site on the Gold Coast which is owned by developer Bob Ell and LEDA Group.

Mr Ell said he expected to be forced to enter an “offset arrangement” with the federal government.

“We have to decide if we can strike a balance between rehoming six koalas and delivering homes for 10,000 people who don’t have one. Any reasonable person would say we can achieve that.”

The site is zoned for 4000 dwellings, already green-lighted by the Gold Coast City Council.

However, it will require environmental approvals from state and federal governments to proceed.

Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek was approached for comment but referred the Bulletin to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

A department spokeswoman said Mr Ell’s project “requires assessment and approval under national environment law due to significant impacts on matters of national environmental significance, including koalas”.

The Coomera Quarter site.

“The developer submitted their assessment documentation in March,” she said.

The department expects to provide feedback on the proponent’s draft assessment documentation in the coming week.

“The department will continue engaging with the proponent through the assessment process so that sufficient information is available to inform a decision about whether or not the proposal should be approved.”

The site was sold to Mr Ell by Coomera Resorts, previously known as Polaris. Polaris’ Japanese parent company Hokojitsugyo purchased it as part of a 370ha parcel in 1989.

The company had a buying spree throughout 1990 that included purchases from mortgagees and gave it control of 757ha.

It planned but never started a major residential resort larger than Sanctuary Cove.

Part of the original parcel has since been developed into the Coomera Town Centre.

Mr Ell’s plans outraged environmentalists when announced last year.

Wildlife Queensland Gold Coast Branch president Sally Spain warned the development would have a disastrous impact on koalas.

“The fate of (our) once prolific koala population on (the Gold Coast) has been obvious for years,” she said at the time.

It comes as work continues on Mr Ell’s giant northern NSW holdings.

The first 150 lots of the Kings Forest estate on the Tweed Coast are for sale, more than 20 years after they were first proposed.

Mr Ell has been planning Kings Forest and his neighbouring Cobakai Lakes developments since the 1990s but has faced years of delays in securing approvals from the NSW Government.

The estate, which straddles the Queensland/NSW border, will have 4500 lots covering 869ha and, once completed, will become home to more than 11,000 people.

Beyond housing, the estate will also have a school, sporting fields and a central park, as well as a retail complex.