Families stunned over massive development in small street
RESIDENTS living next to a massive proposed retirement village and townhouse development in Toowoomba's southern suburbs have vowed to fight its approval.
RESIDENTS living next to a massive proposed retirement village and townhouse development in Toowoomba's southern suburbs have vowed to fight its approval.
The small community of families living on Large St in Middle Ridge was left stunned after The Chronicle revealed last month Gabbinbar Homestead owner Barry Bernoth planned 98 units on land at the end of their small neighbourhood street.
Oak Tree Group, in conjunction with Mr Bernoth, lodged plans for a 52-unit retirement village and a 46 unit residential development on vacant land bordering an existing residential development to the north and heritage-listed Gabbinbar Homestead to the south.
But most crucially to detractors, the vacant land is next to several large rural-residential blocks that had been developed for several decades in some cases.
Long-time Large St resident and organiser of the objectors Dr David Lee said the article was the first time anyone knew about the development, which was lodged with the council in mid-April.
He said the proposal was unacceptable for the type of road and part of Toowoomba, expressing concerns about traffic, noise and safety aspects.
"They are going make this the entrance for everybody. That street is very narrow, and we pay a lot of money to live in one-acre blocks," he said.
"There were only nine families living here, and now there will be 100 or more.
"There will be 20 times the amount of traffic going through there."
Fellow concerned resident Brendan Coonan described the situation as "lose-lose", arguing it was inconsistent with the surrounding neighbourhood.
"The development site is surrounded by rural residential (and) low-density residential and a heritage site," he said.
"It is a big leap to (use) the land's residential zoning to make this... residential development with retirement duplex villas."
The proposal is considered code-assessable by Property Projects Australia, arguing the development matched the "low-density residential" zoning of the current land.
If the council examined it as a code-assessable application, objections and submissions were not officially included with deliberations, though councillors have allowed residents to speak against developments at special meetings in the past.
However, PPA director James Juhasz acknowledged the density was much higher than the surrounding land uses.
"The proposed development achieves a density that is slightly denser than anticipated in the acceptable outcomes in terms of dwellings per hectare," the planning report stated.
A retirement facility is identified as a consistent use within the low-density residential zone, and by its very nature will result in a higher dwelling density than surrounding low density residential areas."
The attached traffic report with the application revealed Large St would see an extra 380 vehicles per day if it went ahead in its current form.
Mr Bernoth's son Mitchell said Large St was the only viable option for access to and from the development.
"When the adjoining land was developed to the north, provision was made for pedestrian and emergency vehicle access between our land and Brimblecombe Dr, however, no new road connection was considered necessary," he said.
"The type and number of homes proposed are consistent with the expectations for that zone."
Originally published as Families stunned over massive development in small street
