Row over beachfront site heads to court
Group battles council, developer over retirement project
A FIGHT to preserve a stretch of Gold Coast beachfront left largely untouched by high-rise developers has reached boiling point and will now be dealt with in court.
Bilinga resident Michael Sparksman is one of four appellants representing residents of Kirra Wave Apartments in opposition of The Pavilions – a dual tower retirement facility under development along Golden Four Drive and Lang St.
The other appellants are Glenn Stewart, Robert Snart and Colin O’Connor.
Mr Sparksman claimed the 12-storey development, of which two levels are undergound, was non-compliant with the current City Plan as the area was considered a medium-density residential zone.
As a result legal action has been taken against the Gold Coast City Council and developer Aura Holdings at a cost upward of $200,000.
The first of the two towers has already been completed; construction of the second building is yet to commence.
Aura Holdings believed the proposed development complied with relevant planning requirements
In court documents lodged with the Planning and Environment Court, the appellants argue the second multi-storey building would reach 34.5m high – 12.5m above the City Plan limit of 23m.
Its boundaries and setback are proposed to be only 11.2m from Kirra Wave Apartments instead of the permitted 25m, the appellants allege.
“It’s not that this building is just too big, too ugly, too close, and a disgrace, rather that it is in breach of all those requirements. It doesn’t satisfy them, and we’ve got experts who can provide that evidence,” Mr Sparksman told the Bulletin.
“We were horrified by the scale and bulkiness of the development and its proximity to the residential mediumdensity apartments in Bilinga like Kirra Wave.
“We are looking to require this development to be codecompliant. If it complies with what people expect under the town plan, we’d have no concerns about this development going ahead.”
Pat Sullivan, whose property is directly next to the construction site, says the view from his kitchen and living room peers directly on to workers and any level of privacy has long gone.
“We have been here now for nearly three-and-a-half years,” Mr Sullivan said. “The reason we bought this place was simply for the quality of life.
“With the development that’s going on next door we’re going to lose a significant amount of that quality of life. Basically our veranda and balconies will be uninhabitable as the only way to have some privacy will be to shut them in.
“We come down here every week just to hose down the dust and clean up from the rubbish that lands on our property from it.”
Mr Sparksman and Mr Sullivan claimed the development was given the all-clear by GCCC despite it not meeting eight special considerations for exemption on height restrictions, some of which outlined the need for wellmanaged interface, with relationship to nearby residents and developments, as well as protection of local character and scenic amenities.
“The council, by permitting this, have relegated their responsibilities to residents to the dust bin. The problem is (if this goes ahead) this will set precedent for all of Bilinga and Tugun,” Mr Sparksman said.
Aura Holdings director Tim Russell said he believed the proposed development was appropriate and complied with relevant planning requirements.
A GCCC spokesman also declined to comment on the matter while it is before the courts.