Golden makeover planned for Hastings St entry

A developer is upbeat about his plans to knock down a store’s converted old car hire premises for a new base which draws heavily on Noosa’s surfing culture.

Golden Breed surf shop’s Paris Smith is keen to see the new development go ahead. Photo: Patrick Woods

One of the most recognisable surfing retail symbols of the 70s and 80s is looking to help sharpen up the entry statement to Hastings St.

Golden Breed owner Nick Van De Merwe is upbeat about his plans to knock down the converted old car hire premises his store is operating out of for a new base which draws heavily on Noosa's surfing culture.

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From his Victorian lockdown home base on Mornington Peninsula, Mr Van De Merwe said his architect Andrew Bock, who helped design the award-winning Sunshine Beach Surf Life Saving Club rebuild, was briefed to make the new store as "beachy as can be".

A key component of the new development is an upstairs caretaker's quarter with a roof garden.

"It's so we've got flexibility really, it can be permanently let, it can be a caretaker's place, it can be whatever," Mr Van De Merwe said.

Golden Breed used to trade out of the building next door at 15 Noosa Dr, which he was keen to also purchase, but protracted negotiations fell through.

"The site that we're developing is a much bigger site, 13 Noosa Dr is 440sq m whereas the old one was only about 260-270sq m," he said.

"It would have been nice it we could have got them together but we couldn't."

The artist's impression of what the Golden Breed shop front will look like from the street.

He resurrected Golden Breed back in the 1990s after it had fallen on hard times and was keen to make the most of his Noosa trading potential once the COVID-19 border restrictions ease.

"We can't open our retail doors in Victoria, but we can in News South Wales and we can in Queensland," he said.

"In Queensland I think the prognosis for summer is reasonably positive, but Noosa in particular I think needs the money that comes in from Melbourne and Sydney.

"Even though it's open for business up there, it is tough. It will be a lot better when (Premier Annastacia) Palaszczuk opens the border up."

Mr Van De Merwe applied to Noosa Council for a material change of use for the prime entrance location where the famous male and female Golden Breed symbols have traded for more than a decade.

Golden Breed surf shop’s Paris Smith at the key shop entry to Hastings St. Photo: Patrick Woods

His planning consultant Jack Lewis said Golden Breed started in the 1960s and was all about riding the perfect wave, stepping aside from the rat race and society's expectations of the time.

"The proposed redevelopment is in keeping with the branding and allows for casual open areas under the existing melaleuca tree for discussions about surfing," Mr Lewis said.

"The architecture includes references to the weatherboard surf shacks, which has been modernised to allow for natural light and ventilation through the building, while retaining the single storey appearance from the Noosa Dr frontage."

He said the ground floor would feature 155sq m of shop fronting Noosa Dr, the first floor would contain 90sq m for a two bedroom and a roof deck on the second floor.

"The proposed retail surf shop is less than 200sq m in area and does not overdevelop the site for a large-scale retail business," Mr Lewis said.

The shop is listed in the local precinct map as a "key corner" site.

"The proposed caretaker's accommodation above the tenancy is designed to cater for the owner of the business and will be used intermittently as he travels between surf shop businesses in Byron Bay, Gold Coast and Victoria," Mr Lewis said.

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