Capri residents protest
Safety issues among objections to office building
RESIDENTS living at one of the Gold Coast’s oldest canal estates are launching a protest campaign to stop any further commercial development creeping into the suburb.
The council has received almost 400 objections from Isle of Capri residents to an application to convert a house on a 850sq m block opposite the Surfers Paradise State School into a two-level office building.
The estate which has 790 homes was built by Sir Bruce Small in the 1960s and included the Isle of Capri shopping centre which was later redeveloped as the luxury Capri on Via Roma.
Save our Streets Alliance spokesman Michael Niddrie warns the new offices pose a danger to Surfers Paradise State School students due to increased traffic.
The building was so oversized that visitor parking, garbage disposal and deliveries could not be contained within the property boundary and would spill out on to Salerno St, he said.
“The ambitious proposal is simply far too big for the small site,” Mr Niddrie told the Bulletin. “Services will spill out into nearby Salerno and Etna Streets and, combined with increased visitor traffic movement, pose a serious threat to Surfers Paradise State School.
“Via Roma, Salerno and Etna Streets are popular parking areas during school dropoff and pick-up times and are already congested and recognised as a danger zone.”
A recent petition from residents prompted the council to investigate road safety problems created by the dangerous intersection.
“A commercial development at the pedestrian crossing opposite the school will be a disaster waiting to happen,” Mr Niddrie said.
The demolition and construction phase would create six months of chaos and the school drop-off and pick-up zone most likely lost forever, residents said.
“Isle of Capri has a perfectly good commercial zone which not only satisfies the local needs but also attracts visitors because of its charm and ambience,” Mr Niddrie said. “We don’t need another standalone commercial node in a residential area, particularly in the uninspiring form of the one proposed.”
The Surfers Paradise P & C Association in a letter sent to council backed the residents, describing the intersection opposite the school entrance as “extremely hazardous” and warned that the development would add to traffic risks.
Area councillor Gary Baildon has not responded to Bulletin requests for comment.
The developer could not be contacted yesterday but the application concludes that a modern building would replace ageing housing stock and provide for a cafe and health care services.