Gold Coast’s worst street ghettos in Surfers Paradise and Southport revealed

Commercial rent relief and inner-city events are part of a plan to fix the Gold Coast’s dilapidated areas taking the shine out of the Glitter Strip. Have your say on what the city needs.

City leaders want commercial rent relief and more inner-city events to transform street ghettos and abandoned buildings taking the shine from the Glitter Strip.

Streets surrounded by rubbish, graffiti and empty buildings are common in Surfers Paradise and Southport – with Surfers Paradise State MP John-Paul Langbroek saying two years of “no events, no tourists and no sense of beautification” had spelt a death knell for the visitor hub.

Empty, rubbish-strewn areas include Welch, Scarborough and Nerang streets in Southport and Cavill Lane in Surfers Paradise.

Gold Coast’s worst streets and abandoned buildings.

Last week it was revealed a council report would be commissioned to outline a strategy and funding model for the dated tourism hub in a bid to return Surfers Paradise to its “tourism glory days”.

But Mr Langbroek said he had not seen any detail on how council planned to revamp the tourist mecca.

“It is imperative that Surfers Paradise is made to look as good as it can be, that it is as appealing as possible and has significant milestone tourism events to keep it as the jewel in the crown,” he said.

“It’s been two years of no events, no tourists and no sense of beautification. Put all those things together and it’s a death knell for businesses who need turnover to keep going.

“I get so many comments from people about the state of Surfers Paradise and locals who say ‘I’m not going in there’.”

The future changes for Surfers mooted in the revamp report could include:

* A riverwalk between the Riverside precinct, Budds Beach and Macintosh Island Park.

* A widening of foreshore pathways and changes to traffic.

* A refresh of Orchid Ave, reducing vehicle access or speeds.

* An “urban oasis” marking the start of a cultural walk to HOTA.

Gold Coast’s worst streets and abandoned buildings

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But Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce president Martin Hall said the solution could not repeat past mistakes of “putting lipstick on a pig” and needed to have a real impact.

He has called for both short-term and long-term measures to improve the situation.

“There needs to be a consultative city-wide conversation,” Mr Hall said.

“We desperately need to rejuvenate both Southport and Surfers Paradise.”

The chamber president said rent relief and pop-up shops were some immediate measures that could be taken to fill vacant buildings and stop them being used by squatters.

Surfers Paradise MP John-Paul Langbroek. Picture: Scott Powick

Division 10 Councillor Darren Taylor said council had completed projects to refresh Surfers Paradise during the past two years, but more significant work was needed.

“We need to broaden opportunities throughout Surfers Paradise,” he said.

“It’s about how we create more opportunities for people to broaden their appetite to move into these particular parts of town.”

In terms of Southport, council has a Priority Development Area which aims to:

* Attract national and international investment;

* Engage residents and visitors through high quality urban design;

* Connect to local and regional centres as a multi-modal public transport hub;

* Celebrate Southport’s unique natural setting and connection to the Broadwater by continuing to provide attractive and functional public spaces;

* Maximise infrastructure investments including Gold Coast Chinatown, light rail and the Southport Broadwater Parklands.

Gold Coast Councillor Darren Taylor. Picture: Jerad Williams

Ray White Surfers Paradise CEO Andrew Bell said a revitalisation was already under way in the city centre.

“There is a bit of transformation that is occurring. We are leasing a lot of that vacant space now,” Mr Bell said.

“If you look at Surfers Paradise in particular, in the last year it was named as the suburb in Australia that had more real estate transactions than any other in the entire country.”

Empty shops did not reduce house prices in suburbs, but also did not provide stimulus to increase house prices either, he said.

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Originally published as Gold Coast’s worst street ghettos in Surfers Paradise and Southport revealed