RESIDENTS GIVE PALMY TOWER THE ‘FINGER’
A SOUTHERN Gold Coast record of more than 1500 objections have been lodged against the high-rise tower development known as The Collective, according to a residents group.
The extraordinary protest against the proposed 21-storey tower follows a campaign and town hall meeting organised by the new Palm Beach-Elanora Community Group.
Objection letters describe the project in the largely single level district centre precinct of Palm Beach as “ugly” and “a middle finger to the sky”.
Palm-Beach-Elanora Community Group spokeswoman Lancia Jordana said the community had worked with town planners and architects to help draft various objections for residents.
“The council’s recommended submission process through PD Online is so difficult to find, laborious and hard to navigate for ordinary people,” she said.
“We were forced to use new technology to ensure residents could easily have their voice heard within the 15 business-day time limit for submissions.”
The majority of objectors were from the Palm Beach and Elanora postcodes but significant numbers also came from across southern Coast, showing concern about high rise overdevelopment spreading into neighbouring communities.
“This is reinforced by the number of community groups and individuals who personally contacted us from Currumbin, Currumbin Waters, Tugun, Bilinga Rainbow Bay, Burleigh, Miami as well as up north from Labrador, Broadbeach and Main Beach in relation to our issue,” said Ms Jordana said.
“Local Gold Coast communities are clearly fed up with being ignored by council in favour of developers. So many high-rise approvals by council cause long term problems for residents, such as traffic, parking and overshadowing.”
“We welcome sensible development. But we totally reject outrageous proposals where council are persuaded to grant excessive relaxations well outside the City Plan.
“This overdevelopment would set a disastrous precedent, if approved, for other bulky, over-scaled towers in the Palm Beach CBD.”
The developer after a comprehensive information request by council planners has reduced the height of the planned tower by two stories — from 23 to 21 stories.
S & S Projects, which is redeveloping the popular dining venue at The Collective, believe the suburb’s planned first five-star boutique hotel will set the area up as a dining destination.