Samford Village offices, shops plan sparks firestorm from locals

It is famous for its quaint village atmosphere, but now residents say a development proposed for Samford Village will change their town forever. SEE THE PLANS

Artist's impression of the proposal.

A three-level office and shop project would barely raise an eyebrow elsewhere, but in picturesque Samford Village more than 700 locals have lodged submissions condemning the biggest project ever planned for their town.

Moreton Bay Regional Council will vote on June 29 on whether to allow the development, smack bang across from the busy roundabout that is the town’s unofficial gateway.

Despite becoming gradually busier in recent decades, the tallest building in the village is still only two storeys and there are still fewer than 12,000 people in the area.

But the new project would have two basement levels and three above-ground floors, covering most of the sprawling 2843 sqm block fronting Samford Rd and Junction and Main streets.

There would be 94 car parks, motorbike parking, three ground floor shops, two shops/offices and two food/drink outlets on the first level, with another shop and six offices on the second level.

Aerial view of the development site.

Emmett Herps Town Planning said in the development application (DA) that the project would be well landscaped and designed, with plenty of parking and would be a major asset to the town, northwest of Brisbane.

But locals such as Tara Jones were appalled and called on Council to reject it.

“It’s probably the worst place you could possibly choose for that sort of development,’’ Ms Jones said.

“It’s bounded by the two busiest roads in Samford Village and it’s the first thing you see when you drive into town.

“(A lot of) it has been vacant for years and a motel plan was knocked back, but all of a sudden this development application has come in.

“The first anyone heard about it was six months ago and since then there’s been a big push by locals to stop it.’’

Ms Jones conceded there was a large hardware store on the opposite side of the roundabout which had been there for about two decades, but said it was only two stories and set back from the road frontage.

“There also a large two-storey gym on Main St, but it’s also set back from the road,’’ she said.

“About 1400 cars a day use the roundabout.’’

The Samford Market development at Samford Village, unveiled late last year, would include seven food and drink outlets, along with a small bar. Locals said it was only two storeys and set back from the street. Picture: Ferradini Property Group

The village has experienced strong development in recent decades due to the beautiful scenery, relaxed lifestyle, relatively cheap land prices and proximity to Brisbane’s northwest.

It also hosts hundreds of weekend daytrippers on scenic drives, motorbike riders and people attracted by its cafes, a Harry Potter store and quaint shops.

The new proposal would cover 71 per cent of the site.

But Emmett Herps said in the DA documents that about 16 per cent would be landscaped, although less than half that would be in-ground trees and existing street trees would be removed.

A traffic report dismissed concerns about congestion.

There would be two vehicle access points, a left in/left out on to Main St and an access to Junction St, as well as a dedicated service vehicle access on Junction St.

“The proposed development provides a high quality and detailed civic corner which responds to and activates the location,’’ they said.

“The proposal reinforces Main St’s identity as the township’s centre and provides a sense of arrival.

“Considerable effort has been put into the proposed design to ensure potential amenity impacts on nearby residential uses associated with noise, bulk and scale, visual appearance and overlooking are suitably addressed.

“It is a low scale development, which uses layered and tiered massing in response to the site’s

gradient... to achieve height appropriate development.

“It will offer goods and services to meet the needs of the township, surrounding rural areas and visitors.’’

They also said the facade would be broken up with a range of building materials including cladding, glass, timber, concrete, brick and metal.

Emmett Herps said the 94 onsite car parking spaces was sufficient for a project of that size.

A Bitzios Consulting traffic report estimated it would generate only an extra 115 trips during the morning peak and 193 trips during the afternoon peak.

“The proposed development-generated traffic is expected to have minimal impacts on the surrounding road network,’’ the report concluded.

The project is impact assessable, meaning it can be challenged by residents in the planning court.

However, that is a very expensive process, with developers rarely losing cases.