The high-rise push is moving into our suburbs
Our local shops.
Council’s high-rise push.
Council’s planning leadership is promoting housing on neighbourhood shopping-centre sites across the Gold Coast. At Benowa Gardens, changed planning rules permit four tower envelopes and up to 413 homes.
The tower approvals are clear.
What guarantees our local shops will return?
Help fund the court appeal to protect our local shops and suburban way of life.
Take action
Donate.
Help fund the court appeal to protect our local shops and suburban way of life.
Get the facts
The explainer.
See what Council approved and why neighbourhoods across the Gold Coast should care.
Keep connected
Stay in the loop.
Follow public appeal updates, fundraising milestones and the campaign for our local centres.
The short story
Watch the video.
A local place. A much bigger question.
What should protect the local role of neighbourhood centres when major redevelopment is proposed? Our campaign video will explain the appeal and how you can help.
A Gold Coast concern
It’s not just about Benowa.
The chemist close to home. A familiar café. A quick grocery run. Our local centres are part of the way we live, from Ormeau to Robina and the suburbs in between.
We see Benowa Gardens as a landmark community challenge to the scale and planning approach approved here. The court case concerns one site; our campaign also speaks to the everyday places valued across the Gold Coast.
These are examples of local centres, not a claim that each has a redevelopment application.
What has been said
Read the words. Understand the stakes.
The traditional suburban shopping centre is facing extinction
Gold Coast Bulletin, Andrew Potts and Emily Walker, 25 March 2025 · Read the source
Integrating residential development into these redevelopments is essential to addressing housing shortages
Cr Mark Hammel, reported in the same article · Read the source
The first excerpt is the report’s framing. Hammel’s commentary promotes housing integrated with retail and argues it can support retail viability. The article is syndicated by The Courier-Mail; a subscription may be required.
The explainer
Planning rights for towers. What secures the shops?
4
Tower envelopes
59m
Highest tower envelope
413
Maximum dwellings
22m
Maximum podium height
The approval replaces specified ordinary codes with site-specific rules. It retains retail and commercial controls, but permission for retail space is different from certainty that existing local shops will return and be open for business.
Take part
A community concern. A practical way to help.
Help fund the appeal.
The proposed initial priority is independent town planning assessment and expert evidence. The fundraiser is being prepared; the named organiser, recipient, budget and fund terms will be published before donations open.
Stay in the loop.
Get campaign news, public appeal updates and clear information about the next steps.
Your questions
Clear answers.
Who is running this campaign?
Save Our Shops Gold Coast is the community group behind the public campaign. The appellants remain responsible for their court proceeding and decisions about it.
Why does this matter outside Benowa?
Local centres across the Gold Coast provide everyday shops and services. We see Benowa Gardens as an important example of the questions raised by intensive redevelopment. The appeal concerns one site and does not automatically change the rules for other centres.
Does the approval guarantee our local shops will be rebuilt?
The approved plan retains retail and local-service controls and places the podium with the Carrara tower in Stage 1. Our review has not identified express commitments to a minimum total retail area, a retail opening date, existing tenants’ return or shops trading before residential occupation. We want those practical safeguards clarified. This is different from saying the approval has no retail requirements.
Is this a rezoning?
The variation approval replaces specified planning codes and changes how later applications are assessed. It permits high-rise development beyond the ordinary neighbourhood-centre controls. The documents do not show a map change to a High Density Residential zone.
The story so far
How we got here.
2 June 2026
Council resolves to approve
Council grants preliminary approval subject to conditions. It considers the site context and benefits justify approval despite identified non-compliances.
15 June 2026
Amended decision notice
The notice records the approval, conditions and reasons, replacing the 9 June notice to correct administrative details.
14 July 2026
Residents file their appeal
The appeal is filed in the Planning and Environment Court at Southport, reference D221/2026.
Read it for yourself
Official documents & links.
Amended decision notice
Approval, conditions and Council’s reasons · City of Gold Coast, 15 June 2026.
Approved Plan of Development
Site-specific rules, heights and staging · stamped 5 June 2026.
Council application document register
Source documents for application MCU/2025/79.
The campaign explainer
A plain-language summary of the approval and appeal issues.
In the public eye
Media.
Read the source reporting and Council’s recorded reasons alongside the campaign’s explanation of the residents’ objections.
About this campaign
Save Our Shops Gold Coast.
Save Our Shops Gold Coast is the community group behind the public campaign. The appellants remain responsible for their court proceeding and decisions about it.