Public meeting for Limestone Creek Road, Inverness, development

‘Americanised urban sprawl subdivision’: Residents share negative concerns around the Limestone Creek Road development as it may also impact the Yeppoon Parkrun course.

Residents have shared their concerns around the Limestone Creek Road development.

The developer behind a proposed over 50’s lifestyle residential village in Yeppoon will host a public meeting on Wednesday to share plans about the development which has attracted some negative community feedback.

Plans for the development were lodged with Livingstone Shire Council in late 2022 by Limestone Creek Developments, headed by developer Graham Burns for 73 Limestone Creek Road, Inverness.

The “Springfield” parcel of land has been owned by a local family since 1981.

Site plan for the subdivision land at Limestone Creek Road.

The plans include 392 homes which are two and three bedroom and architecturally designed with garages, aimed a residents who want to downsize and “enjoy a more relaxed and low maintenance lifestyle”.

The dwellings will be constructed on site using “conventional building techniques”.

Design of the home for the lifestyle community.

The “over 50’s lifestyle community” would also include indoor and outdoor pools, clubhouse, tennis courts and bowling green within a gated entry.

Director of Limestone Creek Road Developments Graham Burns said the development aims to provide Yeppoon with a “high-quality option for the over 50’s market, offering another 392 homes for the region as we can see a significant future demand for the Livingstone Shire region”.

“The project will provide a significant number of job opportunities over an extended time frame, both during construction and ongoing,” Mr Burns said.

Design of the clubhouse for the lifestyle community proposed at Inverness.

Mr Burns has more than 45 years experience in land and property development in Australia and Asia Pacific.

He is also the director of Land Dynamics, which has completed more than 20 developments, mainly housing estates, with a huge chunk in Port Macquarie and other New South Wales sites.

An economic report conducted by Bull & Bear, shows Livingstone Shire Council has a higher ageing population than the state average.

Residents aged 65 years and over represents 20.2 per cent of the area’s population with 4,073 persons, according to Census 2021 data, with this age bracket growing at a rate of 5.1 per cent nationally.

By 2041, it is predicted there would be 9,471 persons aged 65 years and old in Livingstone.

There are four retirement villages and manufactured home sites on the Capricorn Coasts, catering for up to 312 residents.

The development application also includes a 129 lot residential land development which would neighbour the lifestyle community and along the Capricorn Coast Rail Trail.

The residential land development is targeted to families with lot sizes from 1,011 sqm to 5,789 sqm from $249,000.

Site plan for the development at 73 Limestone Creek Road, Inverness.

There has been some criticism of the project on social media, with some insinuating it will be a “trailer park” which is not the case.

As of April 23, there had been 25 submissions lodged to council regarding the development application, all in objection, with one submitter calling the designs “Americanised urban sprawl subdivision”.

“I am greatly concerned that this development if approved in its current form will be highly prone to flooding and also increase the risks of flooding in Yeppoon,” submitter James Zurvas wrote.

Ian Jones shared his concerns around clearing of trees and bushland adjacent to the rail trail, threatening wildlife habitat and the 70 species of birds that frequent the area.

Lucy Palmer’s submissions states the development “directly threatens the investment we have made, both financially and socially, as it will be in direct eye-line from our property. A large amount of vegetation will need to be cleared, which is a habitat for many native species. Not only this, the added traffic and residences will create a large amount of noise.”

Many submitters also had concerns on the condition of Limestone Creek Road.

“The impact on Limestone Creek Road will be enormous. The road is in dire need of an upgrade now without the additional impact this development would have,” Margaret and Michael Sullivan wrote.

“Has the council considered the additional thousand plus cars pouring into Yeppoon via either Rockhampton Road or Adelaide Park Road?,” Ben Bromley wrote.

Murray Smith, among others, noted concerns around the impact extra residents would have on existing infrastructure and services.

“Another important issue is the impact on infrastructure in general including, shops, hospital, police, fire, other roads, beaches and probably more that I could mention. Whilst some of these are the domain of the state government it does help to paint a bigger picture of a town/shire already under considerable strain from the amount of growth during and post Covid. Our infrastructure is simply not ready to take any more burden at this time,” Mr Smith’s submission read.

Sue McDonnell of Yeppoon Parkrun submitted her objection, which was backed up by several other submitted, as the development would sever the “Pineapple Rail Trail and negatively impact Yeppoon Parkrun”.

“If this development proceeds it will require the relocation or cancellation of this highly valued community event,” her submission read.

“This location (the current course) is ideal as it is a parkrun requirement that we utilise a location that does not cross roads, driveways or carparks.

“This location provides a beautiful environment adjacent to bushland. Visitors and locals alike appreciate the shaded sections, smells of eucalyptus and excellent pathways.

“We are very concerned that if this development request proceeds, we may have to cancel Yeppoon Parkrun temporarily or permanently.”

The rural vacant land on Limestone Creek Road.

Mr Burns explained they plan to plant native trees and have focused on keeping nature in the development.

“What drew us to this site was the incredible outlook of the mountains and the central location with large established trees and the charm of the Inverness area,” Mr Burns said.

“Our vision is to bring to life a land estate like no other in the area working with the natural environment with a focus on ecological sustainability and planting an extra 1,000 plus native trees, so that residents can enjoy a connection with nature in a leafy estate.

“Importantly we have incorporated a 20 to 40 metre wide vegetation corridor on the acre lots alongside the rail trail to ensure that we retain this integral part of the local biodiversity and great lifestyle asset to Yeppoon which residents can continue to enjoy.”

The development application is now in the public notification period, which allows for residents to lodge submissions and objections, and will close on May 5.

A public meeting will be held on Wednesday April 26 at 5.30pm at the Yeppoon Town Hall.

Local residents will have the chance to meet the developer Graham Burns and hear further details about the lifestyle community and proposed land development.