Light rail to Gold Coast Airport: Properties that may need to be resumed

Residents living on the Gold Coast Highway have received a letter telling them their properties may be resumed to make way for the tram extension to the border.

SOUTHERN Gold Coast residents living on the Gold Coast Highway have been told their properties may be resumed to make way for the tram extension to the border.

The Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) sent a letter informing property owners at Tugun that their land was being looked at as part of a “multi-modal” corridor study being developed as part of the 13km light rail stage 4 link which will run from Burleigh Heads to Coolangatta via Gold Coast Airport.

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The letter, signed by TMR regional director Paul Noonan said the study was determining “the long-term strategic direction for the Gold Coast Highway for the next 20 years”.

“I am writing to confirm the planning status of your property … in accordance with TMR’s approved planning policy,” he wrote.

“The attached transport planning drawing … illustrates the possible future land required.

“At this stage there is no committed time frame or funding for a future project.

“This advice to you is an essential step that enables TMR to provide certainty about property use in this area.”

Mr Noonan said all development applications for affected properties on the Gold Coast Highway would be referred to the state government for “possible conditioning”.

Artist impressions of Gold Coast light rail Stage 3B - Burleigh Heads to Gold Coast Airport. GCB exclusive until March 7 2020. Picture: Supplied

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A Transport and Main Roads spokesperson said the letters were an “important step” ahead of “community consultation”, but were not resumption notices.

“The registered letters sent this week are not resumption notices,” the spokesperson said.

“The letters have been sent to identified stakeholders as an important step before broader community consultation can begin.

“This will allow planning to progress to Category C status for the Gold Coast Highway and provide assurance of known land requirements.

“Consultation includes letters to property owners advising the change of the highway planning category.”

Resumptions have been required for the first three stages of the tram system, with more than 173 properties acquired by the government for stage one and just four for stage 2.

The former Caltex service station at Burleigh Heads has already been demolished ahead of major construction beginning on Stage 3, which will run between Broadbeach and Burleigh.

Images of the letter appeared on social media on Wednesday night.

It is not known how many properties will be either partially or fully resumed to make way for the tramline, which will be the final piece of the coastal route

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The Queensland government is rushing to clear roadblocks to fast-track construction of stage 4 as early as 2023.

Light rail stage 4, which will run down the coastal strip through Palm Beach to Coolangatta via Gold Coast Airport, is expected to be one of the critical transport projects supporting the southeast Queensland bid for the 2032 Olympic Games.

A letter sent by the Department of Transport and Main Roads to residents on the Gold Coast Highway at Tugun regarding light rail resumptions. Picture: Karen Rowles/Facebook

Mayor Tom Tate said resumptions were an inevitable fact of the project.

“Forward planning is the key for transport infrastructure because these projects take time to plan, design and deliver,” he said.

“To get as much information out there to residents is key to the success of the light rail’s delivery.

“The Olympics is not about sport, it’s about infrastructure legacy in the same way as it was for the Commonwealth Games.”

Public consultation will begin by mid-2021 with the final report, along with business case and multi-modal corridor study, which will determine the final route, all due in mid-2022.

If funding is secured in the 2023-24 council, state and federal budgets, then work could potentially begin the same financial year. It would directly follow completion of the Broadbeach to Burleigh stage 3.

It is expected to cost at least $2.5 billion with construction to take four years.

Originally published as Light rail to Gold Coast Airport: Properties that may need to be resumed