CLEVER APPROACH TO PLANNING CONCERNS

WHAT do the people of the Gold Coast actually want? That’s the question which civic leaders have been grappling with for more than 70 years as the region evolved from a small holiday destination into a booming and rapidly growing city.

Through booms and bust cycles in the 1980s, 90s and 2000s, we have seen towers rise and fall, suburbs crow and our population swell as more people moved to the Gold Coast.

The Gold Coast is an increasingly desirable place to live, but growing pains and a conservative “maintain the status quo” stance from some groups has led to increased efforts to stymie development.

This is nothing new, with opposition to new towers one of the hallmarks of each council term despite being a city with a skyline dominated by high-rises.

Main Beach has become a particular hotspot in recent years with cashed-up locals taking aim at projects they argue are “overdevelopment” of their suburb.

But rather than parade their concerns into a paranoid, unhinged and ultimately politically impotent social media campaign, the Main Beach Association is playing its hand carefully, building a war chest to stop projects as well as engage planning experts to develop their case.

It’s not always going to be successful but this is a sensible approach to dealing with issues facing our suburbs.

The genie is out of the bottle and development is not going away, so it’s up to us all to ensure it is done right.