Gold Coast City Council has voted to save what's left of Black Swan lake.
Most of the man-made borrow pit was filled in earlier this year to make room for car parks and a horse training area at the Gold Coast Turf Club, but residents and animal rights groups have been fighting to keep the remaining 20 percent.
Mayor Tom Tate the only councillor not to back Bob La Castra's plan to protect the rest of the lake, saying he wanted finality and doesn't want the Turf Club returning in a year complaining about maintenance issues.