Diverse fight to save old Burleigh arcade building

AN accountant, musician, artist, surfer and Indigenous activist are among the seven people taking on a Sydney developer and the Gold Coast City Council to save an iconic Burleigh building from being bulldozed.

Nikki Archer, Lesley Stewart, Clinton Brewer, Richard Harvey, Alissa Crafter, Bud Manthey and Jessica Argenti, better known as indie pop artist Lavelin, are behind the We Are Burleigh group trying to raise tens of thousands of dollars in the legal stoush to keep the Old Burleigh Theatre Arcade.

Ms Archer and Ms Stewart and another supporter, Wayne Purcell, lodged an appeal in the Planning and Environment Court after the council approved a 14-storey, 36-unit complex on the Goodwin Terrace site. The developer, Weiya

Holdings, said it would keep the old building’s facade.

However, residents say the proposal is “inappropriate”, “unsympathetic” and “bulky”.

The case was due to start this week but was adjourned until June 6.

We Are Burleigh is holding an event at a number of venues this weekend and have started a Gofundme, reaching $6367 of a $85,000 target.

Ms Archer said residents were concerned the project was granted a 50 per cent height increase above planning guidelines for Burleigh.

“We are asking the judge to go through all of the conditions they should have got through to get the uplift like social, economic and environmental factors,” she said.

Ms Stewart said only preserving the facade of the Old Burleigh Theatre Arcade was missing the point of the building: “The point is to have that area for community use. There is a lot of value in these old sites.”

We Are Burleigh is taking over Burleigh village with their multi-venue fundraising event, Morning of the Earth on Sunday.

The film Morning of the Earth will be played for the first time to celebrate Burleigh’s history, and there will be a range of activities focusing on local surf and art culture.