City has its fill of growing pains
The lack of suitable homes for families on the Gold Coast is a regrettable state of affairs
IN 1990, a political party calling itself Australians Against Further Immigration produced paraphernalia declaring “Australia is full”. Since then, the number of people living here has soared from 17 million to 25.7 million and we’re all rubbing along quite well, so it’s safe to say they were somewhat wide of the mark.
But without the anti-immigrant overtones, would it be reasonable to now suggest that, due to its geography, the Gold Coast is actually close to being a full house in a very literal sense?
There is a high degree of evidence that, disappointingly, this may indeed be the case.
It is now close to impossible to buy land to build a house within the Gold Coast City Council area.
Those few sites that do exist command eye-watering sums. Up until relatively recently, there was plenty to choose from in areas such as Pimpama.
Today, the amount of lots available could be counted on one hand.
At time of writing, your columnist could find only three small home sites listed, for prices between $469,000 and $580,000.
This lack of availability has brought the previously explosive growth of northern suburbs to a shuddering halt. And as the Bulletin revealed on Saturday, it is changing the face of our city.
While our population continues to rise, the growth is far stronger among those aged more than 60 years old than it is among young people.
Because while unit blocks ideal for retirees from Sydney and Melbourne continue to rise along the coastal strip, the door has largely closed on new homes for young families who want the traditional three-to-fourbedroom home with room for kids to play out the back.
The result is seen in census numbers, and in state school enrolment numbers, which have shown a surprise fall, defying recent predictions that the Gold Coast would need to build more schools.
The lack of suitable homes for families on the Gold Coast is a regrettable state of affairs.
It represents a planning failure on behalf of the state government in particular, which has been far too slow in addressing the looming problem, despite repeated warnings. It has been very good at discussing the issues, but far less skilled at delivering solutions.
In March last year, the government created a taskforce called the Growth Areas Delivery Team, formed to look at how undeveloped land between the Sunshine Coast and Tweed Heads could help cater for the South East’s bulging population.
The prime area of investigation for the team on the Gold Coast was assumed to be the canefields between Pimpama and Stapylton – an enormous area with the potential to deliver tens of thousands of new homes.
The Growth Areas Delivery Team seems to have been misnamed, particularly the “delivery” bit.
Almost 18 months on, the only hint of any progress from the taskforce is in an area of Caboolture in far-north Brisbane, which has long been slated for development.
The strong suspicion among key players on the Gold Coast is that state and council are all too painfully aware of what it would cost to provide the necessary infrastructure to make residential communities on the canefields viable and lack the means to foot the bill.
This is hardly a surprise. Looking at the Coomera Connector and the enormous pressure on Gold Coast University Hospital – though not, it must be acknowledged, in the provision of schools – it’s clear the state is still playing an expensive game of catch-up in regards to infrastructure for the northern suburbs that have already been developed.
But while the state moves slowly, the market moves quickly.
With the “house full” sign going up across the Gold Coast, young families on average wages are the ones paying the price.