30 most-hated developments in Brisbane in 2019
From the ill-fated Mt Coot-tha zipline to a property giant that asked for a bonus 10 storeys, 2019 was a big year for vile developments in Brisbane. Here are just some of the ones residents despised the most.
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From the ill-fated Mt Coot-tha zipline to much-loathed retirement villages, angst over two major road projects, and many, many revolting highrises, 2019 has been a year when countless ghastly developments have been inflicted on long-suffering residents. We look at some of the ones you despised the most. And this is just the shortlist.
MT COOT-THA ZIPLINE
This harebrained scheme, most likely a pet project of former Lord Mayor Graham Quirk (he claims he can’t remember whose idea it was) wins the coveted Quest Newspapers gong for the most hated project of the year.
There were so many objections — when the State Government finally stepped in and forced Brisbane City Council to properly consult with the people of Brisbane — Council’s online development application portal melted down.
It was the latest in a string of other, also much-hated, plans over the past few decades to turn the beloved mountain bush reserve into a theme park.
Such was the scale of the public backlash, the Queensland Museum began collecting placards, fence signs and other material for an exhibit on community protest movements.
In the end, it took a new lord mayor to (very quickly) listen to the people who pay his wages and stop the project, which experts said would have saddled ratepayers with expensive losses for years to come.
TARRAGINDI RETIREMENT PROJECT
Second prize goes to RetireAustralia for its $80 million retirement village complex at Tarragindi.
More than 4000 residents signed a petition against it — a record until the Mt Coot-tha zipline came along and blew it out of the water.
Despite a valiant fight spanning at least three years, including one year in the courts, three appeals lodged against Council’s approval of the project in January last year were eventually defeated in the Planning & Environment Court in March.
The court asked for minor amendments but the number of dwellings, buildings and the height and scale were unchanged.
Councillor Krista Adams (Holland Park) said she was “very happy residents were able to have their say through the court appeal process”, but many of them will remember this one when it comes time to voting in the March Council elections.
TRICARE TARINGA RETIREMENT VILLAGE
“Do they know who they’re taking on?’’
A real estate agent whose patch covers this area made this comment after hearing of aged care giant TriCare’s plans to build a massive retirement village, five times the height allowed under the neighbourhood plan, just off swanky Swann Rd.
Affected residents launched possibly the best-organised and resourced development battle in recent Brisbane history, but the cards were so heavily stacked in favour of the developer that in the end they had no chance, despite a valiant fight over two years.
ARIA TOWER
The year ended with a shocking example of an “up yours’’ from developer Aria to long-suffering Kurilpa Peninsula residents.
Aria went back to Brisbane City Council only 96 hours after its South Bank tower was approved, just days before Christmas, asking to increase its height from 20 to 30 storeys — while only adding a handful more car parks.
The change still needs to be re-examined by council’s planning department.
Despite the extra apartments, the new plans only include an extra 10 car spaces, seven of which are for visitors.
To compensate, developer Aria Property Group has added 83 new bicycle spaces to the proposal. Seriously?
The original proposal was submitted in May last year and approved on December 16, only four days before the updated plans appeared on Brisbane City Council’s planning website.
LOTA HOUSE RETIREMENT VILLAGE
How could a Church group do this?
That’s what hundreds of furious Bayside residents have been asking themselves since they took up cudgels against Village Retirement Group and Anglicare.
They plan to build a luxury retirement living development at the site of heritage-listed Lota House, which dates to 1865.
An appeal has been lodged in the Planning and Environment Court after Council knocked the project back.
BROADWAY HOTEL, WOOLLOONGABBA
If you’re a heritage lover, there have been very few sadder stories this year than the awful, public crumbling of this once grand old lady whose distinctive mansard roof has enlivened an otherwise hideous street corner.
The Development Tribunal upheld an enforcement notice Brisbane City Council issued to Dr Nyst to make it safe, after it was appealed eight months ago.
Dr Nyst had insisted the historic pub was too dilapidated to fix after several fires ripped through it.
Council and the State Government have blamed each other all year for the lack of action. Residents are sick and tired of the blame games while they wait, in vain, for the building to be saved.
MANLY UNIT COMPLEX
Frustrated locals accused Council of ignoring its own neighbourhood plan as they took their fight against a controversial development on Brisbane’s bayside to court.
A 43-unit apartment complex on Stratton Tce, Manly, was approved by Brisbane City Council in November, despite receiving dozens of objections from locals.
The project initially involved 49 units but was scaled back after locals expressed concern at losing views of the Manly Boat Harbour.
Documents filed in court late last month showed 21 complainants have banded together to appeal the decision to green light the four-storey complex, claiming council has not considered their homes’ views of Moreton Bay.
AZURE TOWNHOUSES, KENMORE
Outraged Kenmore residents were forced to resort to crowdfunding in a bid to finance court action against developer Azure’s townhouse project.
Four families near the Margaret Ct site spent $96,000 alone by that stage on legal and other bills.
The developer got the right to negotiate with Council, but neighbours had no such right.
They also could not tax deduct their bills. Azure could. Doesn’t seem fair, does it?
After Council knocked back the original 104 townhouse proposal, Azure responded with an insulting plan to cut just two townhouses from the site.
In the end, it got 96. Residents now get to stare at a monstrous retaining wall and will have to deal with the traffic.
KINGSFORD SMITH DRIVE UPGRADE
It will cost $650 million but save only minutes in travel time.
Staunch advocate, former Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, insisted repeatedly during his final term in office that the project was essential, and the disruption a necessary evil.
But motorists, nearby residents and businesses, and the Labor Opposition, beg to differ.
LYTTON RD UPGRADE
Why? That’s what many motorists and residents have been wondering about this hugely expensive and extremely frustrating road project in East Brisbane.
Sure, the congested road is now wider — for a bit — and a tight bend is no more.
But was it worth the resumptions, loss of parkland, the cost and the delays?
Council says: definitely.
R&F PROPERTY UNITS, WEST END
This monster of a unit project,backed by a controversial Chinese developer, originally was for seven towers up to 15 storeys high.
The developer says it is a win for the area as contaminated land will be cleaned up, among other improvements.
Deputy Premier Jackie Trad, the local Greens Councillor, lobby groups and residents say it is way too big for the limited facilities in the area.
ALBION EXCHANGE
Residents and local LNP councillor David McLachlan have complained long and loud about this one.
Cr McLachlan (Hamilton) said there was “considerable concern” from the community about the masterplan, which was “well outside” the existing Brisbane City Plan and in a character residential area.
Marlene Evans of the No Super-Sized High Rise for Albion Action Group said the Brisbane City Council should “reject this application outright”.
Even another big developer, FKP Commercial Developments — now called Aveo Group — argued that the plans proposed by Geon Property for the $750 million Albion Exchange Transport Orientated Development did not meet several City Plan requirements.
The project’s backers say it will transform the area.
SPRING HILL OFFICE TOWER
THE company behind this 27-storey office tower at 152 Wharf St says the controversial project will be a catalyst for the urban renewal of inner Brisbane.
But resident Dr Neil Peach was so outraged he took the developer on in the Planning & Environment Court.
Unfortunately for him, it dismissed his appeal against the plan, which he claimed was an “obscene overdevelopment”.
The owners said the project was a direct response to Brisbane City Council’s planning foresight to accommodate Brisbane’s growth through initiatives such as the Spring Hill Neighbourhood Plan.
“This development will be an immediate urban renewal catalyst for the inner Brisbane City area,” they said.
BRIDGEMAN DOWNS TOWNHOUSES
More than 1000 people petitioned Council in July to reject a proposed commercial and residential development at Bridgeman Downs, which they say will remove too much bushland.
On June 27, a development application was lodged for a service station, food and drink outlets, childcare centre and 39 townhouses on an 18,160 sqm site at 415 and 427 Beckett Rd.
Outgoing City Planning Chair Matthew Bourke said Council did not support the current proposal.
Residents positively loathe it, but will they win their fight? Time will tell.
A neighbourhood plan is out for consultation in the meantime.
KEDRON BROOK TOWNHOUSES
If you love Kedron Brook, you were likely thrown into a rage just as the year began.
Council got in quick and approved Mirvac’s controversial plan for 124 dwellings on an old farm on the banks of Kedron Brook, while many people were still on holidays.
The development on 6.1ha at 50 Ashmore St, Everton Park, known locally as Murphy’s paddock, will feature 44 houses, 80 townhouses and a 1ha wetland.
Mirvac’s application generated plenty of local opposition, with residents in nearby streets complaining about the loss of local green space and fearing traffic from the development would add to congestion.
A petition calling for the application to be rejected was signed by more than 700 people and the council received 180 submissions.
MONARC ESTATE, EVERTON PARK
Brisbane City Council might have dismissed concerns about the traffic impacts of a huge Monarc development it approved in January near a busy intersection at Everton Park, but residents aren’t having a bar of that.
The Monarc development, on Woolworths St and South Pine Rd, will consist of five buildings, four eight storeys high, and contain 292 apartments and 432 residential parking spaces.
Public submissions to the council raised fears the development, proposed by Rogerscorp, would add to congestion, especially on South Pine Rd.
The site is also near the intersection of South Pine Rd and Stafford Rd, which is so busy the State Government is spending $26 million to build a partial bypass to take some traffic away from it.
But in the approval, Council planners said the project would not have significant impacts on local roads. Seriously? Who are they trying to kid?
BELLBIRD PARK HOUSING ESTATE
The Friends of Bellbird Park spent much of their year fighting off developers who challenged an Ipswich City Council decision to block its housing estate in the Planning and Environment Court.
CB Developments Pty Ltd had applied to build more than 300 homes on 34ha of Bellbird Park bushland off Eugene St near Woogaro Creek.
But in April Ipswich City Council rejected the development, but the developers have lodged an appeal.
Now Bellbird Park residents are asking the rest of Ipswich to stand with them to stop the plans.
They were concerned the proposed development was in a koala corridor.
TOWNHOUSES, FOREST LAKE
WHILE Council has been dithering over new rules for townhouse developments, disgruntled Forest Lake residents are taking them on in court in a bid to halt some of the latest approvals.
The Forest Lake Action Group (FLAG) has opposed several development applications for more than 170 townhouses across Forest Lake, Ellen Grove and Doolandella.
The townhouse developments are usually planned for 1ha lots, which are common in Ellen Grove and have previously contained a single dwelling.
Retiree John Saunders said developers had already “decimated” the suburb to build “ugly monstrosities”.
TALLOWOOD ESTATE, HIVE TOWNHOUSES, THE GAP
Angry residents at The Gap woke in July to find award-winning rehabilitation work by Hilder Road State School students had been trashed.
They blamed earthworks at the controversial Tallowwood housing estate on Settlement Rd.
Hilder Road State School students and Eco-marines members have won many awards for their rehabilitation of Fish Creek, but locals said it had turned into a muddy mess after a stormwater pipe was extended 100m to the creek bank.
Developer Devcorp said it had a “very environmentally conscious policy’’ including sediment controls.
Council had opposed the project, on the old Nova Gardens nursery site.
The nearby Hive unit project off Waterworks Rd has also been plagued by multiple run-off incidents, into Enoggera Creek.
But it blamed two others housing estates up the road, one of which had a major sediment run-off incident earlier this year.
INDOOROOPILLY GOLF CLUB RETIREMENT PROJECT
The club, one of the richest in Queensland, stands to make tens of millions of dollars from a lease deal for a retirement village project to be run by Aura.
Under the proposal, the club would lease 1.9 per cent of its 128ha riverfront site to retirement centre operator Aura for 60 years, with a 60-year option.
There would be 215 independent living units in buildings up to five levels, facing Meiers Rd.
The IGC is confident the project on its land will not significantly worsen traffic.
Sceptical residents disagree.
Local Greens MP Michael Berkman says the club should pay tax on the deal, as the land was originally owned by the people of Brisbane and was supposed to be reserved for open space.
ST PETERS SCHOOL EXPANSION
Furious residents this year called on state Planning Minister Cameron Dick to delay, or refuse, St Peters Lutheran College’s application to bypass normal council processes for a development master plan for the site.
The local councillor, James Mackay, says it is a great school but he is concerned the process would stop Council from having input.
He is also worried about potential traffic, noise, lighting and other impacts and would like to work with the school and residents to come up with a solution.
HOW MANY CHILDCARE CENTRES DO YOU NEED?
That’s the question residents from Sherwood to The Gap, from Moorooka to Buranda and Bardon to Ashgrove have been asking this year as proposal after proposal has come forward.
There are simply too many to name in this story.
With bank funding for units drying up, and yields still high for childcare developers, childcare developments are one of the few options left to spin a quick buck. But at whose cost?
The peak lobby group for childcare operators says there is a massive oversupply right across Brisbane, particularly in the westside and inner south.
SEVEN HILLS HIGHRISE
Early in December, developer Heran Building Group stirred up a hornet’s nest after announcing plans for a seven-storey unit project — almost double the maximum height of previous plans — at the former College of Art site at Seven Hills.
The new plans also include a retail component, triggering an impact assessable development application and taking the proposal back to public submissions.
The proposed redevelopment of the Seven Hills TAFE site has been the source of local concern for years.
Councillor Kara Cook (Morningside) said she would seek the community’s views about the expanded proposal but did not support the doubling in height.
PIDGEON HOUSE, HOLLAND PARK
THE owner of Lamb’s Estate at Holland Park says Council’s failed attempts to heritage list the property drove him to demolish the landmark.
A pile of rubble is now all that remains of the landmark 1952 home built by Frank Lamb, the son of the co-founder of Queen Street drapery Edwards and Lamb, and later the home of construction giant and developer Sir John Pidgeon.
Council had nominated Lamb’s Estate to be added to the local heritage register as part of the recently adopted Coorparoo and Districts Neighbourhood Plan.
Despite the nomination being supported by the National Trust, Council withdrew it saying it no longer met the criteria because of recent changes and modifications to the property.
The home meanwhile was approved for demolition in 2017, allowing a demolition crew to move in last month.
CARINA ESTATE
LAND originally set aside as an environmental offset for cleared bushland at a major residential estate has become a “Disneyland” according to conservationists.
Frasers Property received council approval in June to develop 197 units and 20 residential lots at the former bakery site at 179-193 Fursden Rd, Carina.
Under the development plans, a bush corridor from Fursden Rd to Kate St, which was a buffer between the bakery and residential areas, will be cleared.
Frasers has said the development exceeded the council’s 5 per cent communal open green space requirement by more than four times.
Bulimba Creek Catchment co-ordinating Committee (B4C) catchment manager Wayne Cameron said the approved plans for the northeast corner was not compensation for lost habitat.
“In their latest plan they’ve turned the ecological site into Disneyland for the new residents,” he said.
SUNNYBANK HILLS AGED CARE FACILITY
Residents of Sunnybank Hills have launched a campaign against a 136-bed aged care facility they say will clog local streets and increase the potential of a fatal traffic crash.
The community consultation period for the two-stage Calam Rd/Radiata St development is open and residents opposing the plans have already started lodging submissions.
The land has been zoned ‘emerging community’ since 2000.
The owner of the Sunny Care site said the facility had been “designed to meet the diverse cultural needs of the Sunnybank community”.
ROCKLEA SPORTS HUB
Concerns about flood mitigation, creek protection and increased traffic demands are plaguing a proposed sporting hub planned for Rocklea.
The Department of Education has released details of the new sports and education facilities at 161-167 Marshall Rd, Rocklea.
The site, which has been subject to local flooding, would support the new Inner City South State Secondary College (ICSSSC) at Dutton Park, providing sporting ovals, multipurpose courts and carparking.
An Education Department spokesman said the hub would be a major boost for the local community.
Councillor Steve Griffiths (Moorooka) said the redevelopment came with concerns about flood mitigation and impacts on the local waterways,
Public submissions closed on December 20.
MULTIUSE FACILITY, SUNNYBANK
A small community on Brisbane’s southside is gutted and outraged that Brisbane City Council approved a controversial development application in their Salisbury neighbourhood last month.
Since late last year, residents have been fighting to stop the 60 Rosebank Square project – a multi-level building, which includes a 70-space childcare centre, community space, language school and shop.
Residents have strong feelings about what they say is a “large and inappropriate” development – holding local rallies and lodging hundreds of submissions against the project with council.
They believe the facility will generate significant noise, pedestrian and vehicle traffic.
Council said the proposal had been “significantly amended”.
NATHAN HOUSING ESTATE
Locals say this southside suburb’s population could potentially double if a newly proposed unit development goes ahead, with residents concerned the suburb’s infrastructure won’t be able to cope.
The Motorama Group has held pre-lodgement meetings with residents to highlight plans for a 543-unit development or an expansion of its industrial site at 53 Fairlawn St.
Resident Anna-Marie Newton said they were being forced to choose between “a rock and a hard place”.
Councillor Steve Griffiths (Moorooka) called for a more detailed proposal.
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