Plans to ‘cram’ 11 townhouses onto a 1500sqm block in Griffin has angered residents
Council approved plans to put 11 townhouses on a 1500sqm block of land have angered residents who say enough is enough.
North Lakes Times
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A newly approved townhouse development on a main thoroughfare has angered existing residents who say roads in the area are already way too congested.
Moreton Bay Council last month approved an application to build 11 two-storey townhouse units on a 1495sqm block of land fronting Brays Rd, Griffin.
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Each unit has a lot size of about 58sqm.
The site is within the last remaining pocket of large blocks in the area, and in recent years has become surrounded by high density housing on all sides.
Brays Rd is already notoriously congested in peak hours with its proximity to several schools and highway access, and residents say this latest development will cause further issues.
The application was code assessible under the planning scheme which means it was not required to be publicly notified and was assessed by the council’s planning staff.
“The proposed design is typical of medium density development with two separate buildings containing attached units with individual garages and ground level private open space for each unit,” the planning report stated.
“All of the proposed dwelling units will have a private courtyard area meeting Council’s minimum requirement for private open space.
“The proposed number of units, their location, design and access are all considered appropriate for a Multiple Dwellings on the site, and consistent with the zoning provisions of the Next Generation Neighbourhood.”
Twenty-one people raised concerns over the application on the planningalerts.org website.
“Oh for goodness sake, enough with townhouses,” wrote Carol Damen. “Griffin is already flooded with them, traffic issues will be prominent if they continue, in fact there are already traffic issues.
“Griffin is or was a nice place to live, but these townhouses are choking the suburb. Please no more.”
Jodi Oosthuizen wrote: “Brays road is already dangerous as it is. There definitely doesn’t need any more complex units built.”
Others pointed out potential parking problems, as the complex was approved with just one parking space for each of the 11 three-bedroom units, along with two other onsite visitor spaces.
H Mattison wrote: “This section of road is a main thoroughfare for many Griffin residents. This will become dangerous with not enough parking for residents of the townhouses (most will have two cars with only one garage) and safety issues entering and exciting the dwellings for all residents.”
“Townhouses and multiple dwellings are popping up throughout the suburb, with many in narrow streets where single dwellings were previously marked to be built.
“This is creating traffic nightmares, which is not safe for children, on narrow streets and many empty units (attractive for juvenile crime). Please stop.”
North Lakes Times asked Griffin residents on the Murrumba Downs, Griffin, North Lakes, Mango Hill Community Watch Facebook page what they liked and disliked about living in the suburb.
Theresa Fillmore, who moved to the suburb recently from the NT, said she like it so far, but: “I’m feeling very squished in to these ‘sardine cans’ they call houses here. Barely a yard, can near kiss ya neighbours good morning.”
Sarah Lane said there were not enough playgrounds for the kids or bike paths, and the streets were too narrow.
Ashley Jeffery agreed.
Cassandra Large said Griffin is great being close to the shops and not too far from the city, but the infrastructure “isn’t there yet”.
“We need roads and footpaths upgraded. We need a new high school for the kids from Griffin to attend.
“There are too many townhouses being developed. It would be better to leave them as land blocks. It’s a booming area. It could be even better with a bit more thought being put into the development of the area.”
Mark Livesay agreed there was “way too much high density housing with no infrastructure improvements to cope with the extra traffic.”
Alexis Inns said Griffin was a nice place to live and close to shops, but has narrow roads, small house blocks which were affordable but “also comes with some undesirable people who add to the crime rate”.
The applicant of the new townhouse development, The Everest Trust, has asked the council to suspend the appeal period in order to allow sufficient time to address the council’s conditions of approval on the development.