Booming burbs creating small series of CBDs
BOOM Gold Coast suburbs will become small “cities within cities” on the back of a surging population and development pipeline, a leading social researcher believes.
By 2030, growth centres Coomera, Burleigh, Robina and Southport are tipped by prominent social researcher Mark McCrindle to effectively become their own CBDs.
Mr McCrindle said a soaring population would see “cities within cities” rather than one dominant CBD.
A mooted fast-rail train line extension from Varsity Lakes to the border would spark significant development in the southwest, he said.
“The bigger the footprint, the more community hubs you are going to have,” he said. “The make up of each suburb will change and we are already starting to see this in areas where there are more universities and transport options. As soon as that fast-rail connection is there, it will open up those other areas.”
His comments come on Total number of development applications filed on the Gold Coast 2012-19
the eve of data to be presented by leading demographer Bernard Salt at today’s Future Gold Coast Forum.
It shows the city is growing 1.5 times faster than the rest of Australia with some suburbs set to grow dramatically within 11 years by 2030.
The biggest growth will be seen in the Ormeau-Oxenford corridor, which will surge 55 per cent with an extra 78,582 people by 2030, taking its population to 220,265.
Mr Salt started the Future Gold Coast campaign in the Bulletin two weeks ago by urging the city to accept its destiny: “It will top the million mark in the late 2030s.”
Steve Harrison, past president of the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) said: “There will be a continuation of urban renewal along the light rail corridor but this will not occur at the same pace as the greenfill up in the north.
“Once it’s agreed the Coast has no more capacity, it will have to move out into the cane fields of the north, which will also lead to employment.”
The city’s development rate remains consistent despite a national slowdown.
The latest council data shows 4400 development applications in the past year with 27,000 applications made to council since 2012.
Mayor Tom Tate said sustainable development would continue: “Finding the balance is the key. We need to cope with between 13,000 to 16,000 people moving to the Gold Coast each year.
“We have to rethink how we live and especially how we get around. A single person driving around in a four-door car is not sustainable for our city. The days of driving your teenage kids to school rather than them walking, riding or bussing is not sustainable.”