V-Sheet December 2018 | Page 12

MINISTER FOR STATE DEVELOPMENT, MANUFACTURING, INFRASTRUCTURE AND PLANNING CAMERON DICK MP 29 NOVEMBER 2018 Setting sail towards community consensus for The Spit stakeholders, landowners, business owners and local government. My department has spoken with nearly 1500 people on the master plan options for The Spit, which present 72 separate ideas across the area’s seven unique precincts, while more than 650 surveys have been undertaken through our online hub. Overwhelmingly, the community has been telling us The Spit needs better access to the Broadwater and improved pedestrian pathways. The Gold Coast is Queensland’s next world city, and we want to have a world-class vision for The Spit – an iconic part of our state. People want improvements at the Top of The Spit, but they’d like it to remain largely open space. They’re also supportive of the southern end being reinvigorated for business and commercial use, among other things. That’s why the Palaszczuk Government is aiming to bring an end to the decades of debate that have long clouded the future of The Spit through a detailed master planning process. This is the first time in 15 years that any level of government has engaged with the community in a meaningful way regarding The Spit – to enable a genuine exchange of information and ideas in the pursuit of an agreed vision for the area. When we started this process, the Premier asked me to bring people together to establish a strong spirit of consensus about a new plan for The Spit, and I am pleased to say this is a plan being produced by the community, for the community. Additionally, people have commented on the need to maximise the strong relationship between what happens on The Spit and the maritime activities that occur on the Broadwater. It’s about getting the balance right between protecting environmental and community values, while also allowing appropriate commercial development on The Spit. Our process has been met with enthusiastic support from Gold Coast residents, key Vsheet - DECEMBER 2018 SPECIAL INSERT