SURFERS SITE DRAMA
FULL COUNCIL WRAP
COUNCILLORS have controversially voted to give a longer lease to operators of an eyesore Surfers Paradise beachfront mall on condition a $30 million redevelopment is carried out.
A majority of councillors defied last-minute pleas from Surfers Paradise businesses owners and the area’s own councillor Darren Taylor to retake control of the Crown land when the lease expires in 10 years. Instead council voted to grant Challenger Group a new 30-year lease which must be drawn up by February 28 next year.
Mayor Tom Tate, who voted in favour of the lease extension, said Surfers Paradise’s heart was “rotten” and Challenger’s proposed revamp would “get the heart beating again”.
“It is the heart of our tourism offering but this heart is rotten to the core and we all see this deal in front of us for the betterment of our city, so the opportunity is there to make Surfers Paradise pump again,” he said.
Crs Taylor, Peter Young, Brooke Patterson Mark Hammel and Daphne McDonald voted against the longer lease. The existing 50-year lease was not due to expire until June, 2031
To honour the deal, the centre must be demolished and work begun on a new public plaza and dining precinct within a year of the new lease being signed.
Challenger has two years to finish the project and must give the precinct a facelift every 10 years.
Council’s rent on the site will also dramatically increase from $26,000 to $420,000 annually.
The future of the Paradise Centre has been a hot issue in recent years, given its location fronting the Cavill Ave Mall and “rundown” state. The centre once played an important part of the Gold Coast tourism experience, especially for families, and included the popular Grundy’s water slides.
Surfers Paradise Surf Life Saving Club’s Billy James opposed a lease extension in a submission on behalf of the club, bodies corporate for Allunga and Ballah towers, and Surfers Paradise BIG (Business Innovation Group).
He admitted he was “flabbergasted” by the council’s vote to tear up the lease and grant a new, longer one and insisted the fight was not over, saying “tomorrow is another day”.
“The council cannot just arbitrarily issue a new lease because they will have to come back to (the surf club) before the lease is surrendered,” he said.
“They have a fiduciary duty to do the right thing by the surf club given we are involved in the (Crown land).”
Mr James ruled out taking legal action against the council but instead said the club would try to negotiate a better outcome from city hall.
The Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce and ex-Cr Gary Baildon also opposed a new long lease. Cr Taylor argued it was time the council invested more money into Surfers: “This is public land, we’ve been waiting 25 years as this area has become more run down, we are only 10 years away from having an opportunity to actually understand what we can make of this area.
“It is really concerning we have not spent a lot of money in Surfers, we just seem to give away land in Surfers Paradise. We must start investing it and revitalising Surfers Paradise.”