Brisbane backyards gobbled up and turned to units

Labor councillors fear the council’s attempts to protect Brisbane’s backyards has opened the floodgate to developers trying to beat the ban on units in low density areas.

Brisbane City Council Lord Mayor Graham Quirk. (AAP Image/Richard Walker)

BULLDOZERS will rush to develop low density blocks while Lord Mayor Graham Quirk’s plan to save Brisbane backyards languishes in bureaucracy, the opposition says.

On Tuesday, Labor councillors moved an urgency motion that council implement a Temporary Local Planning Instrument (TLPI) to stop development of units and townhouses until its current proposed amendments to City Plan are in place.

In September, the Brisbane City Council voted to prepare an amendment to the City Plan to stop townhouses and apartments being built in areas zoned for single homes.

Any amendment to the City Plan can take up to 18 months from start to adoption into the City Plan, and once a draft is prepared it will go out to the community for consultation.

At the moment, townhouses and apartments can be built in low density residential areas if they are on sites 3000 sqm or larger.

Cr Kara Cook.

Labor Cr Kara Cook (Morningside) earlier told the chamber about a development application to build 16 townhouses on two house blocks at Pockley St, Morningside.

Concept plans for the style of units lodged for a low density area at Morningside.

She said the application showed developers could “still exploit loopholes” in the Brisbane City Plan to “gobble up Brisbane backyards and cram them with units and townhouses”.

“Despite this administration’s ratepayer-funded advertising blitz, the reality is backyards in Brisbane are still at grave risk,” she said.

Councillor Jared Cassidy. Picture: Peter Cronin

Opposition city planning spokesman Jared Cassidy said while the amendments went through the adoption process, which can take up to two years, “the bulldozers were rolling in”.

“There is a clear disconnect on the rhetoric and reality of this administration,” he said.

“If the Lord Mayor was actually serious about protecting backyards, he wouldn’t have just feigned concern.

“He would ensure there was no opportunistic glut of development as developers rush to beat the deadline.”

Cr Quirk said there was a “lawful process” that his administration and every other council had to go through to make changes to the City Plan.

“We gave a very clear timeline around each of the 40 recommendations that we had in that blueprint,” he said.

“We have already brought those changes through this council chamber as the first stage of that process.”

He said the day after the proposed amendments were voted on, City Planning chairman Matthew Bourke wrote to Infrastructure and Planning Minister asking for his support on the amendments.

The LNP administration voted against Labor’s urgency motion to implement the temporary planning order, as did Cr Sri.

Cr Johnston voted with Labor.