Fight to super-size high-rise

Council has knocked back a billionaire’s bid to super-size a proposed luxury Gold Coast apartment building, but the developer’s company has gone to court to overturn the decision.

Beckdev Coolangatta Pty Ltd (Beckdev) filed its appeal against the Council of the City of Gold Coast’s refusal to approve its plan to “dramatically” expand an already approved 132-unit development on McLean St, Coolangatta, in the Planning and Environment Court in Brisbane on April 3.

The change application asks to add three storeys to the towers so it would be 21 storeys tall and 67m high, and to increase the number of units from 132 to 156, a move described by council as “dramatic”.

In its March 1 refusal, the council described the plan to expand the building as not appropriate “and a misuse of the planning system” given it was filed only a month after the smaller building was approved by council.

According to the appeal notice, Beckdev, owned by billionaire developer Max Beck, 82, from Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, applied to council for a “minor change” to an approval for its project known as Palais Coolangatta on the former site of the Jazzland Dance Palais dance hall.

The development approved by council on October 27 last year was 18 storeys or 58.7m, and had 132 units.

“The submission of this minor change altering the agreed upon outcome, submitted only one month after the conclusion of the assessment process of the originating application is seen as an unreasonable request that is not faithful to the extensive negotiations that were undertaken throughout the assessment of the originating application, and to some degree, are an unnecessary burden to council considering that officers had already assessed the proposed development at a very similar height and did not support that outcome,” council stated in its March 1 refusal.

“As such, seeking to change this through a minor change only one month after the appeal period had concluded is not considered appropriate and a misuse of the planning system,” council said. “The proposed development ... increase in height and additional storeys dramatically changes the built form in term of scale, bulk and appearance,” the council said in its refusal, which Beckdev denies.

Beckdev submits in its appeal that its proposed development “represents an improved outcome” when compared with its earlier plans – for 23 storeys and total height of 75.5m, which was subject to public notification.

The public notification plan also proposed the building to have 368 bedrooms, compared with the current plan for 331 bedrooms, the appeal states.

“The proposed changes ... will not result in an essentially, materially, or dramatically different visual outcome with respect to the perception ... from Kirra Hill,” the appeal states.

But in its refusal the council states that the development received no submissions in support and 478 objecting to it.

Mr Beck also co-owns the Essendon Fields aviation precinct with trucking magnate Lindsay Fox.

No defence has been filed and no date set for hearing.