Harbour Study

The Gold Coast Harbour Planning Study - Background

Project Keypoints

Significant study attracting broadly-based community, environmental and business interest
High profile project building on cooperation between Government at all levels and many non-government bodies
Reconciliation of traditionally competing interests to construct a long-term mechanism for area management

The Gold Coast Harbour Planning Study is the first stage in a major initiative to establish a world class harbour and recreation environment within the Broadwater and bounded by The Spit and Southport Foreshore.

Results of the study will provide the basis to create a Local Area Plan (LAP) to reflect community, Government and stakeholder aspirations for the Harbour. The LAP will then be used as the template to promote fully informed strategic decision making and planning for the area will into the future.

The study is a significant joint initiative between the Queensland Government and Gold Coast City Council.

The Gold Coast Harbour area has unique strategic importance with:

landmark prominence
visual appeal
extensive shoreline
existing international quality facilities
a widely recognised underdeveloped potential as an integrated Harbour environment.

Intended development will ensure the harbour remains responsive to the broader needs of the local community while being managed in a way which is focused on preservation of the natural assets.

Environmental planning - The Environmental Research and Modeling Project

The Environmental Research and Modeling Project was a visionary study to understand natural processes in the area ensuring decisions regarding land use and management can be made on a sustainable basis. It was totally funded by GCCC and undertaken in conjunction with State Government and the Griffith Centre for Coastal Management.

The project was the end result of a planning and consultation process designed to respond to community concerns. This commenced with the Gold Coast Harbour Study as a planning process to identify broad issues and set a basis for planned progress.

These planning issues were then aired to the community in the ‘Gold Coast Harbour Vision 2020’ awareness program to investigate community concerns.

This revealed significant community concern about about how well this diverse ecosystem is understood, and the Environmental Research and Modeling Project was instigated to both meet community concerns and provide a solid basis for detailed planning.

This year long community consultation and participation process has just been completed and Council has resolved to prepare the Southern Broadwater LAP and investigate a management regime and funding possibilities.

Balance of interest

The Gold Coast Harbour vision is a balancing of the wants and needs of potential users while ensuring the area is protected through sustainable development to complement the City long into the future.

This will be achieved by including an environmental management plan (EMP) for the Study Area that development must comply with. Information obtained through the environmental baseline studies will underpin the plan to determine an appropriate overall carrying capacity for the study area. This capacity will in turn dictate suitable land uses and the appropriate nature and scale of development for inclusion in the local area plan.

However, achieving this vision demands resolution of integrated management issues and the provision of adequate funding. Council is seeking State and Federal Government support for shared funding of the area as a regional asset with a long history of under-funding. Council has offered to fund works that are not traditionally the role of Local Government on the basis that Federal and State Governments also provide revenue in a cooperative arrangement. Council is currently awaiting support for this proposal.