Suburbs set aside as principal activity centres could get left behind in the Gold Coast's development race if key infrastructure proposals remain bogged down in the approval process.
An independent report, commissioned by the Gold Coast City Council, lists Robina, Southport and Coomera as the area’s principal activity centres, "the highest status activity centre that we have in our planning scheme," according to Greg Betts, Burleigh Heads councillor.
The report also recommends changes to the activity centres based on their economic drivers, future capacity for development, population growth and public transport capacity.
Councillor Betts is concerned that delays in developments in these areas could mean that they are left behind by other suburbs eager to take advantage of the Gold Coast's "phenomenal" population growth.
"If Coomera doesn't move ahead within a reasonable time frame then other areas may move ahead and we'll lose the whole benefit of putting forward the proposal for having infrastructure in that area, because all of a sudden we've got too much growth happening outside that area," he said.
Competing with Brisbane for funding is also a major problem, according to Betts. "A lot of funding goes into Brisbane, being a capital, and we tend to lose out on infrastructure funding from the state. It's a constant battle for us to raise the profile of the Gold Coast in front of the state government and try to get a bit more funding for rails and roads and so on."
