A rundown and overgrown 18-hole golf course in a sleepy Gold Coast neighbourhood has become a battleground after locals mounted a war against proposed development.
Plans to turn the Arundel Hills Country Club, which has been closed for years, into a new residential community have sparked fury from nearby residents who say it would “rip the green heart” out of the suburb.The southeast Queensland region is in the grips of a housing crisis, with a mammoth shortfall of new homes in the pipeline.
“The varied lot sizes proposed for the precinct will translate to a good mix of housing sizes, for a variety of family profiles, lifestyles, and price points,” it said.A public consultation period ended this week and received more than 400 submissions opposing the proposed rezoning. The group wants the old Country Club site to be retained as a recreation and open space for the community, and for the “flora and fauna to be preserved in their current state”.
“You are hypocrites. Go further out west if you want green space. There is definitely land that can be used for housing here in Arundel Hills. The Urban Development Institute of Australia warns that to meet the needs of southeast Queensland’s growing population, some 32,000 new dwellings are needed annually.
“Institute research, undertaken in co-ordination with Urbis, indicated that 98 per cent of residential development land holdings for urban development were less than five hectares and 77 per cent were less than one hectare in size.”As growing cities look for solutions to worsening housing shortages, massive parcels of land in the form of golf courses could offer a silver bullet, advocates say.
However, the development met severe opposition, including from the local Kingston Council and local federal MP, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus.
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