Gold Coast Development: Future of Clive Palmer’s Robina mini city revealed
Billionaire businessman Clive Palmer has revealed the future of his plans to build a multi-billion dollar mini city on the central Gold Coast. SEE THE PLANS
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BUSINESSMAN Clive Palmer has quit plans for a multi-billion dollar Gold Coast mini city as he faces a legal probe over his developer status and election donations.
Palmer Leisure Australia Pty Ltd has discontinued its legal action against council’s refusal of the application for the project at the Colonial Golf Course at Robina.
Plans, first revealed by the Bulletin in mid-2015, included up to eight 30-storey buildings with 1100 dwellings, some constructed on concrete platforms with the site subject to flooding in some areas of more than three metres.
Mr Palmer was unavailable for comment.
The Electoral Commission of Queensland is probing Palmer Leisure Australia over Mr Palmer’s political donations.
The ECQ contends Mr Palmer, head of the United Australia Party, is a developer based on two Gold Coast projects.
Queensland law bans developers making political donations.
City planning committee chair Cameron Caldwell said: “By any measure the proposal was ambitious in its scale and built form and there was significant community interest in the application.
“Council refused the application based on the inconsistencies of the proposed development with the planning scheme with respect to land use, built form, density and character.
“Importantly we know the land is subject to extensive inundation, including excess of three metres in a large event.
“We had continued to defend the refusal through the court process because of the importance of maintaining character, disaster resilience and community safety around the flood plans.”
Filed with the Gold Coast City Council in 2015, Mr Palmer announced the largest development project ever planned for the city’s centre.
The former Avica resort on Gooding Drive was to be transformed into Green Heart Gardens, a 75ha project which would have up to 5000 residential dwellings, high-rises, a chapel and new roads connecting Gooding Drive to Robina Parkway.
More controversially, the Palmer Colonial golf course on Paradise Springs Ave was to be split in half, with nine of its 18 holes cleared and redeveloped to create Robina Transit.
Earlier this month, council had another flood plain win, after a developer lost an appeal on a planned 17-level retirement village tower at Robina.
The decision was expected to set a precedent on future flood planning decisions. The project, on Lot 120 on Lake Orr Drive, was only six kilometres from the Guragunbah flood plain.
Council opposed it due to concerns of transporting the elderly from aged care residences by rooftop helicopter during severe flood events.
Councillors a week earlier had stopped development on the flood plain — the biggest on the Coast protecting Carrara to Burleigh — by backing a temporary law but this court decision adds caution to developing surrounding sites.
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