Save Our Koalas from the Developers’ Bulldozers

The former golf course at Arundel Hills is under serious threat from development. Home to irreplaceable wildlife, including a large population of endangered koalas and is the green heart of our suburb, the golf course will be replaced by roads, over 380 houses and sporting fields if a Development Application currently before Gold Coast Council is given the green light. Almost inevitably we will end up fighting to save our greenspace in the Qld Planning and Environment Court.

The community, which is virtually unanimous in its opposition to the plan, we will need a lot of money to fight this in Court - an estimated $600,000+. Already over 1,000 objections have been lodged with the council with more yet to be registered.

The Arundel Hills Community Association Inc was formed to fight this development proposed by a group of property developers based in Melbourne. Early in 2023 the committee took the decision to seek incorporation as a not-for-profit community organisation and successfully applied for approval to conduct fund-raising appeals for community purposes, consistent with the objectives of the Association. The Association was incorporated in April 2023.

Initially the group focused its efforts on raising public awareness of the likely adverse impacts of development on the locality. A Facebook group page was created and engagement with media through media releases and articles. A website at https://arundelhillscommunity.com.au has also been created. The aim was to ensure that residents had a forum to voice their concerns, particularly during the period of uncertainty while the plans by the developers remained unclear.

The Association is fighting Development Application MCU/2023/84 which seeks Preliminary Approval for a variation request for a Material Change of Use on Lots 18 and 21 Arundel Drive, Arundel. Specifically, Preliminary Approval for a variation request is sought to vary the effect of the Planning Scheme City Plan V9, in accordance with the Arundel Hills Development Code, to facilitate low density residential development of up to 380 lots, in addition to Sport and Recreation, Conservation and Open Space uses.

However, the entire Golf Club area is a wildlife sanctuary with a large population of koalas protected under both state and federal legislation, hundreds of kangaroos and an amazing array of birdlife, including migratory species from abroad. The developers propose to destroy well over 50% of koala habitat trees and build homes which will prevent the free movement of wildlife through the area. They intend to fill in all lakes in the area, which are currently home to many native birds, turtles, etc.

In addition, the development will result in over 800 additional vehicles on what is basically one main road. Morning and afternoon traffic will be horrendous as it is already a traffic jam at both ends of the drive during peak times. Surrounding main roads will also be adversely affected.

The homes they propose to build will not provide cheap accommodation for the needy as proposed, since their individual values will far exceed what the more needy can afford as Arundel Hills is a relatively expensive area in which to live. The proposed lot sizes are 200-300 sq metres for many of the homes, whilst the averages size of a block in Arundel is around 800 sq metres. The proposed development is therefore incompatible with the surrounding established homes built up to 30 years ago.

This fight will ultimately be fought in the Qld Land and Environment Court, particularly if the Gold Coast Council rejects the development application. The Association will need approximately $600,000 to fight the development in the court, hiring both a solicitor and barrister to represent us. We have tentatively engaged 2 of the best in Qld and they are now waiting for events to unfold.

It should also be noted that, should this proposal be successful, other golf courses on the Gold Coast and elsewhere could fall victim to a similar situation. It has already started to occur in other states.

The amount of money that is required to fight the DA far exceeds the capabilities of the Association to raise and we therefore need your help in raising these funds.