The Gold Coast is now a city of over half a million residents and is set to experience 60% population growth over the next twenty years requiring 130,000 new dwellings and 150,000 jobs. City growth of this transformational scale, however, presents many challenges to destinations and places that possess a distinctive and valued local character.

A number of these character areas are on the coastal strip where early beach settlement took a particular form and shape as a result of their history, development pattern and topography. While the coastal strip has an overriding perception of being high-rise tourist accommodation interspersed with commercial and residential use, there are unique places and the opportunity exists to identify their value and importance in terms of local character and ensure they continue to contribute to the richness of the city.

Tugun is located just south of the Currumbin ridgeline on beach. It's distinguished by distinct character zones including a commercial 'village', a beachfront neighbourhood, elevated inland neighbourhoods and the northern tip of the Tugun/Bilinga coastal strip.

The study aimed to identify the range of elements and influences that contribute to its character to inform future planning decisions. These included:

• Elements relating to village scale and atmosphere;
• Recognised contextual landscape visual references and view corridors;
• Streetscapes;
• Built form character and street interfaces; and
• Centre character, legibility and pedestrian permeability.