OUR SAY: Council's $8m land grab tells us a few things

THAT Toowoomba Regional Council paid $8 million for a 19.69 hectare plot of land in the heart of Highfields to thwart a developer’s plans tells us a few things.

OUR SAY: THAT Toowoomba Regional Council paid $8 million for a 19.69 hectare plot of land in the heart of Highfields to thwart a developer's plans tells us a few things.

It demonstrates lateral thinking and illustrates the lengths the council will go to in its attempt to meet community expectations in Highfields after a disastrous first attempt earlier in the year at a master plan for the fast-growing suburb.

The $8 million figure also is evidence of a council hamstrung by its own planning scheme (parts relevant to Highfields were amended in July last year).

The council knew it would have faced all-out community revolt if, as The Chronicle revealed, a developer's plans for "a small housing village" - as former owner Clive Berghofer described it - had gone ahead.

When the purchase was first made public in September, Councillor Chris Tait said it was a "temporary thing".

"Council holds assets in cash, or in land (as in this case)," he said.

"In due course we will exit that land and get our money back, and I believe perhaps more."

In the meantime, the planning scheme presumably will be amended again to reflect community expectations.
 

Originally published as OUR SAY: Council's $8m land grab tells us a few things