Candidate calls for overhaul

PALM Beach needs a makeover like The Spit masterplan so its lifestyle can be protected from population growth, an election candidate warns.

Division 13 candidate Bern Young believes a Palm Beach Precinct could be created under state planning laws similar to the masterplanning process that protected the area north of Main Beach to the Seaway.

“We must bring in local and leading urban designers, architects, landscape architects, environmental engineers and traffic engineers, together with community input,” Ms Young said.

The ABC 91.7 presenter said she would be seeking solutions on how to best manage the rollout of light rail.

“I get a lot of hate on Facebook because I’ve said I will work towards the best outcome possible with light rail past Burleigh Heads. The haters seem to blindly believe it’s my idea to build it and the current councillor can stop it.

“Any candidate who says they can turn this decision around will need to firstly convince a majority of councillors and/or the mayor to reverse the current position on the light rail network as highlighted in the City’s Transport Strategy 2031.”

Ms Young said the current forecasts suggested the city would have 350,000 more residents by 2041, as the Coast heads towards a population of 1 million. “We know the northern suburbs of the city can’t keep doing the heavy lifting as they’ve done for the past 15 to 20 years and while we don’t want big subdivisions in our valleys and Hinterland, we also don’t want endless high-rises all along the coast.

“I believe we’re at a tipping point right now and we must step back and design a place like Palm Beach, with community input and not let it be shaped development by development, transport project by transport project.”