A Benowa appeal. A Gold Coast concern.
Neighbourhood centres are part of everyday suburban life: familiar shops, convenient errands, local services and places to meet. People across the Gold Coast value those connections.
Photographs are examples from the campaign collection. They do not identify centres with current redevelopment applications.
A wider direction
Why this reaches beyond one site.
Planning leadership has publicly promoted residential redevelopment of neighbourhood centres across the Gold Coast. March 2025 reporting describes owners exploring redevelopment; Hammel’s commentary argues that housing integrated with retail can support centres’ viability.
We see the Benowa Gardens appeal as a landmark community challenge to the scale and planning approach approved here. Its outcome will not automatically change rules for every other centre, but the questions matter to other suburbs.
Read the published discussion · Gold Coast Bulletin, 25 March 2025, syndicated by The Courier-Mail; subscription may be required.
What we want
Keep local needs at the heart of the plan.
- Convenient everyday shops and services, with clear arrangements for continuity through redevelopment.
- Development at a scale that respects each centre’s local role and surroundings.
- Safe access for residents, customers, workers and nearby schools.
- Meaningful community participation in major decisions about local centres.
These wider campaign objectives sit alongside the specific grounds in the appeal. The photographed centres are not being presented as approved high-rise sites.
