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 vision is to deliver a significant supply of low-density residential land lots to a Gold Coast market that is desperately short of new land subdivision opportunities, particularly in such a central location as Arundel,” a planning report submitted to council reads.
The proposed masterplan calls for three precincts to be delivered in stages – a subdivision, an extension of neighbouring AB Patterson College’s sporting facilities, and public green spaces.
The proposed masterplan includes three precincts to be delivered in stages, including a low-density urban residential subdivision — comprising 447 home lots varying in area from 286sq m to 1223sq m — that “reflects a natural extension of the neighbouring suburban community”.
“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.
“We‘re not anti-development, there is a housing shortage … but there’s also a green space shortage,” Jason Young, chairman of the Arundel Hills Community Association, which is leading the fight against rezoning, told the ABC.
“These greenheart areas, once they‘re gone, they’re gone. That’s it. You’ve got to fight to keep them.”
Mr Young said locals are concerned about developers cramming as many homes onto the site as possible, despite plans calling for 70 per cent of the land to be retained as public parklands.
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”.
Debate has raged on social media between supporters and opponents, with one local describing anti-development voices as “hypocrites”.
“Your [sic] only really saying save our house values at the expense of new residents having the opportunity to live here like we did,” he wrote in a Facebook comment.
“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.
He slammed the “selfish and uncaring” behaviour towards people needing housing in the midst of a crisis.
Gold Coast Councillor William Owen-Jones hit back, writing: “Having a spray on social media about it, will have no bearing on the assessment.”
Developer Dale Carroll supports the rezoning bid and points out that the proposal would see just 380 lots created, housing about 1200 people.
“It‘s really an extension of what’s already there,” Mr Carroll told the ABC. “We believe we’re unlocking this land for not 300 golfers, but for thousands of residents.”
The Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) warns that to meet the needs of southeast Queensland’s growing population, some 32,000 new dwellings are needed annually.
“Our current system however is not delivering as it should,” the UDIA noted in its SEQ Land Supply Report.
A major challenge is securing large parcels of land that can deliver a surge in housing supply, it said.
“It is increasingly difficult to secure or amalgamate land parcels of a feasible size. This process is often costly and results in compromised urban outcomes and contributes to increased house prices.
“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.”
Golf courses offer untapped potential
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.
In Sydney alone, there are 91 courses across the city comprising 38 square kilometres of land. The New South Wales capital has more courses than any other major city in the world.
Urban planners argue many of those sites, which are closed off to all but a select and exclusive group of members, could be better used for housing.
In a report in The Sydney Morning Herald, town planner Sean Macken cited the example of one eastern suburbs club some 65 hectares in size that was used by just 1100 members.
“Is having these spaces locked away in golf courses really the best use for them,” Mr Macken asked.
But the repurposing of golf courses into housing estates is not without its difficulties, with a number of proposals facing uphill battles to gain approval.
In Melbourne, Australian Super bought Kingswood Golf Course in the suburb of Dingley Village in 2014 and submitted plans for a residential community comprising 800 homes.
However, the development met severe opposition, including from the local Kingston Council and local federal MP, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus.
Appeals stalled and in September, the superannuation fund – the country’s largest – announced it was looking to sell the mammoth site.
It’s one of a large number of golf courses that could be repurposed for housing.
A report by the Victorian Government in 2021 found almost half of the 374 golf courses across the state are in a state of financial stress.
Major developer Mirvac bought the old Eastern Golf Course in Doncaster in Melbourne and turned it into Tullamore, a $900 million residential community comprising a mix of houses, townhouses and apartments.
It too faced planning hurdles but more than a decade on from the original purchase, the 47ha site is now home to some 2000 residents.
“We are incredibly proud of the legacy we have created for our proud community at Tullamore, and we are looking forward to seeing how this neighbourhood continues to evolve over the coming years,” Mirvac Head of Residential, Stuart Penklis, said.
“It was really important to Mirvac that we enhance, conserve and celebrate the natural beauty of the iconic Tullamore site, adding new residences and amenity in the most environmentally friendly way.
“From the outset, we prioritised the creation of high-quality amenity for the community. Almost 30 per cent has been devoted to green open space, and in combination with Next Gen Doncaster Health and Lifestyle Club, our residents can enjoy an unrivalled level of health and wellbeing.”
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