Bayside family’s plea to stop tower of terror and close building ‘loophole’

A bayside woman says her family’s life has been thrown into chaos after a block of units for people with disabilities was built next door, without requiring council approval.

Cleveland mother Nadine Bray makes an emotional plea to Redland City Council about a two-storey block of NDIS units built next to her suburban home. Picture: Redland City Council

An emotional bayside woman has told how her family’s life has been thrown into chaos after a block of units for people with disabilities was built near her without requiring council approval.

Cleveland mother Nadine Bray told Redland City Council how “a poorly written clause in state laws” allowed the “tower of terror” to be built next door.

It covered 76 per cent of the site and she said would affect her family’s lifestyle.

During an impassioned plea to Redland council, Mrs Bray said the two-storey “tower of terror” had devalued her Danielle St property by about $50,000 over the past 24 months.

She said the state legislation meant home buyers would no longer have confidence to purchase houses for fear a multistorey unit would be built next door without council permits on blocks under 700 sqm.

The NDIS units in Danielle St, Cleveland. Picture: Judith Kerr

“The building itself has created wind corridors, stopped our self-sustaining solar energy … it shades our area and reduces our light and it is severely invading our privacy,” Mrs Bray said.

“We have lost sight of sunlight in our backyard which used to be a low residential area.

“We have people who used to walk their dogs and elderly family members up our street, but that has all stopped since construction has commenced.

“This development has continued in our street for 24 months with no communication … and the impact on the traffic in the street has been immense.

“They have provided one disabled park for six disabled people and two standard parks for up to seven staff a day and the streetscape will never be the same.”

The fate of the block of NDIS units, built without local government approval, hangs in the balance after the council today vowed to pursue the developer through the Supreme Court.

The council voted to launch Supreme Court action against developers Boutique Capital and Key Spec Construction over the units.

Boutique Capital was contacted for comment.

The council said it would appeal Planning and Environment Court Judge Amanda McDonnell’s January approval because the two-storey units did not fit the definition of a community residence and therefore were not exempt from council permits and building codes.

The units, built under new Queensland laws designed to fast-track NDIS housing, include nine bedrooms, nine bathrooms and four car parks on a 708 sqm block in a low-density residential area.

At her final meeting before retiring, mayor Karen Williams issued a mayoral minute saying a loophole in the state’s Planning Act needed to be closed as it had “significance across the whole state”.

Redland council’s top lawyer, Andrew Ross, told the meeting that the council would seek a “collaborate approach with the state government” to change the legislation so all buildings had to go through a council approval process.

Developer Kevin Nolan outside the NDIS units he built in Cleveland’s Danielle St. Picture: Contributed

Mr Ross said under the state legislation, residents feared neighbourhood developments would be out of sync with existing buildings and the council wanted all developments to meet the local Planning Scheme requirements.

“We want the state members to come down and discuss with our community the real impacts and look for solutions that we can work together on,” Mr Ross said.

“Our solution is for a balance between advocacy with the state government, together with seeking a resolution through the court process, where we might achieve a better outcome.”