The Queensland Government has moved to take over a 148-hectare site on the Gold Coast, which was formerly owned by Aveo, through compulsory acquisition.
The site at Currumbin (pictured), known as Martha’s Farm or Martha’s Vineyard, was listed by Aveo last year and sold to the Neumann Group in May 2021 for $15.2 million.
While the Neumann brothers had planned to develop a 38ha portion of the site and leave the rest as open space, it will now become an eco-parkland, delivering on a Labor campaign promise from last October’s state election.
Steven Miles, Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, said the community wanted the natural features of the site preserved and will be consulted on the site’s future.
“We can now work with the community to deliver one of the largest eco-parklands in Australia and protect koala habitat and local flora and fauna.
“This is not just about protecting land but improving it. We now have an enormous opportunity to create something special.
“The eco-parklands could be enhanced for recreation such as hiking, bushwalking and mountain biking, picnics or rehabilitation of both native wildlife and bushland,” he said.
The Neumanns will be compensated for the site after the Government pulled the compulsory acquisition trigger to resolve an impasse with the developers that had persisted all year.
