Plan for club hit by trees
SLSC push at Narrowneck meets rainforest remnant concern
ENDANGERED rainforest has emerged as a stumbling block for a new Gold Coast surf club aiming to beef up its presence at a drowning black spot.
Surfers Paradise Surf Lifesaving Club plans to build a second home to the north at Narrowneck, as revealed by the Bulletin last month.
The club’s multimilliondollar expansion project would be built in David Evans Reserve on Main Beach Pde in front of a stretch Surf Life Saving Queensland considers a black spot.
But an assessment lodged with the Department of Environment and Energy – and open for public comment – reveals the site is home to a closed ecological strip known as “littoral rainforest”.
It reveals 170sq m of the land would need to be cleared for the 1564sq m club’s training, education, museum, storage, bar and restaurant facilities.
The foliage is considered to be rare littoral rainforest and “coastal vine thickets” similar to those found at the Burleigh Head National Park. Clearing and land development are considered serious threats to the rare type of ecological area, according to the Environment Department.
The assessment argues the 3.2km between Surfers Paradise and Southport SLSC was too great but did not mention Gold Coast City Council’s professional lifeguard tower just north of the site.
But club alternatives – expanding the original site or locating a new one away from the park – were considered unviable.
Lois Levy of environmental group Gecko said she had “huge concerns”.
“There are only a few tiny patches of littoral rainforest left on the Gold Coast and we should be doing everything we can to maintain these amenities,” she said.
“Apart from being an important ecosystem which obviously supports the habitats of various critters, it is also an important educational tool. Surf clubs are meant to be the guardians of the beaches and places like this.”
Surfers club president and ironman legend Trevor Hendy said addressing environmental concerns was important.
“We are investigating how we can best improve what is already there as well as look after the sensitive bushland,” he said.
Griffith University environmental scientist and coastal advocate Naomi Edwards said the park protected the vulnerable stretch of coastline from erosion.
“The coastal fringe is already under significant impact and threat. We should be doing our utmost to protect what we still have,” she said.
City planning boss Cameron Caldwell said the council would be mindful of environmental concerns when it received a development application.