Hendra residents take on Brisbane City Council over new childcare centre on flood-prone site

Residents in one of Brisbane’s wealthiest suburbs are uniting to stop a developer turning a flood-prone site that was once a bowls club into a mega childcare centre.

Paul Gannon and Shane Matthews with Hendra residents fighting to stop a childcare development in their street. Picture: John Gass

Thirteen residents of a sought-after inner-Brisbane suburb are fighting the council in court in a bid to block an approved mega childcare centre on a flood-prone site that used to be home to a lawn bowls club.

The residents who live surrounding the 5724 sqm block in Lethem St, Hendra, have filed an appeal in Brisbane’s Planning and Environment Court against the Brisbane City Council and developer Lethem Street Projects Pty Ltd.

According to the notice of appeal filed in court last Wednesday, the 239-place childcare centre on the former Hendra Nundah Bowls Club was approved by council on October 27.

Council told the resident of their approval on January 3, the appeal notice states.

The appeal submits that the court should refuse the development because it is too bulky and uses the whole of the site, not leaving any space for sport or recreation facilities and is “out of character with the local area”.

It submits that the proposed centre is so large that it will “generate traffic from outside the local community” and with approximately 65 staff working there will “unreasonably interfere with the amenity of the neighbourhood”.

“The land is located in overland flow flood planning area... and it has not been satisfactorily demonstrated that the proposed development will minimise exposure of people and property to unacceptable flood risk,” the appeal notice states.

Residents in the surrounding low-density area lodged 91 objections to the development with council, the appeal states.

No defence has been filed and no date has been set for hearing.