March 2017
Nicole’s Submission to Council
February 2017
I need your help to send the message to Council that investing in community infrastructure and services is vitally important.
I have started a petition calling on Council to immediately develop an infrastructure plan, to ensure vital infrastructure including stormwater drainage, backflow valves, parks, roads, and pedestrian and cycling routes, and library services are incorporated into a Local Government Infrastructure Plan for delivery over the next 10 years.
You can access the petition online here or via a hard copy at my office at Fairfield Gardens Shopping Centre, 180 Fairfield Rd, Fairfield.
January 2017
Council has now released the draft Dutton Park – Fairfield Draft Neighbourhood Plan for public consultation. In Tennyson Ward, the plan covers the suburb of Fairfield and several streets in Annerley and Yeronga.
Key aspects of the Plan include:
– 593 properties rezoned from Low-Medium Density Residential to Character Residential 2 (infill) – this type of zoning still allows units and boarding houses to be built in backyards and beside character houses;
– removal of character protections for 74 ‘tin and timber’ houses in parts of Fairfield and along Cornwall St, Annerley;
– conversion of the industrial land on Cornwall St (and in Princess St behind) near the cemetery to medium density;
– retention of the Yeronga TAFE site as community use; and
– major development centred around the Boggo Rd and South Brisbane hospital precincts.
Sadly, the Draft Plan fails to deliver any infrastructure or service improvements to our area and does not recommend any upgrades over the next ten years. The disconnect between zoning / development and infrastructure is the biggest shortfall of the Plan. Most Neighbourhood Plans are supported by a Local Government Infrastructure Plan, known as an LGIP, which identifies and prioritises infrastructure upgrades over the life of the neighbourhood plan. Despite clear feedback to Council about the need to upgrade pedestrian and cycling routes, parks, drainage and library services during previous consultation, Council is proposing not one single improvement. This is not good enough.
I need your help to send a message to Council that investing in community infrastructure and services is vitally important, especially given increased development is occurring now and will continue in future.
Below are some ideas you might like to include in your submission. Council is holding several public information sessions and I encourage you to attend and make your suggestions known to Council.
| Talk to Nicole
Tennyson Ward Office 5 – 7pm, Thurs 9 Feb Robinson Park 9.30am – 10.30am Sat 25 Feb |
Talk to Council
Yeronga Services Club Cnr Kadumba St & Fairfield Rd 2 – 4pm and 5 – 7pm Thurs 16 Feb |
Talk to Council
Diana Plaza Hotel 12 Annerley Rd, W’gabba 4 -7pm Wed 22 Feb |
Last year, the Lord Mayor spent thousands of dollars on a letter to Brisbane residents criticising under-investment in infrastructure by the State Government while the Lord Mayor and his administration now neglect planning for future infrastructure in our community. Send the Lord Mayor a message that neglecting our local area is not on.
You can email your views to Council neighbourhood_planning@brisbane.qld.gov.au or in writing to BCC, GPO BOX 1434, Brisbane Qld 4001. Submissions must be in by 5pm, Monday 13 March.
Suggestions for a submission to Council
June 2016
Council has endorsed the draft Dutton Park Fairfield Neighbourhood Plan which has been sent to the State Government for consideration. Later this year another round of public consultation will commence and I will write to all residents in the Plan area about how you can have your say.
104 people, including me, made submissions to the draft strategy, raising issues including greater protections for pre-1946 houses, better connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists, park improvements, more retail amenities, and better drainage and back flow valves.
The Draft Neighbourhood Plan has both good and bad elements. Most of the major changes re to the Dutton Park, South Brisbane area of the plan.
The good:
- some pre-1946 houses in Fairfield and Annerley will be rezoned as Character residential two
- pedestrian and streetscape improvements along Annerley Rd between the Mater and new Boggo Rd Precinct
The bad:
- some pre-1946 houses in Fairfield will be removed from the protected area
- the RSPCA site is to be rezoned for residential development
- NO infrastructure, parks or community service improvements are proposed at all.
Really the Draft NHP is a lost opportunity to plan for the future needs of Fairfield residents, businesses and facilities. My aim will be to push for what is called a Local Government Infrastructure Plan which most other Neighbourhood plans get. The plan supports new infrastructure for the neighbourhood plan area and it is outrageous given the feedback to Council to date that one has not been included in this draft.
You can find a copy of the draft plan below.
I will be in touch when public consultation commences on the Neighbourhood Plan in a few months time.
Draft Dutton Park Fairfield Neighbourhood Plan
December 2015
Councillor Johnston’s Submission on the Draft Dutton Park – Fairfield Neighbourhood Plan Strategy
November 2015
Council has now released the Dutton Park – Fairfield Draft Neighbourhood Plan Strategy for public consultation. You can view the updated plans here.
The Strategy forms the basis for the development of the Plan itself. I urge you to provide feedback on the Strategy to ensure the Plan reflects our community’s needs.
Key changes proposed in the Strategy include:
– removal of character protections for ‘tin and timber’ housing in parts of Fairfield and along Cornwall St, Annerley;
– rezoning of parts of Fairfield to low and medium density from low density;
– conversion of the industrial land on Cornwall St (and in Princess St behind) near the cemetery to medium density up to 8 storeys;
– rezoning of Hefferan Park to residential; and
– retention of the Yeronga TAFE site as community use (good news!).
I do not support the sale of Council parkland for residential development and will be strongly opposing Council’s plan to rezone Hefferan Park for residential development. Annerley needs more green space not less.
I will be treating the Strategy as a blank slate and making positive suggestions to Council about how to improve public transport, local parks and community facilities.
I will also be fighting for better drainage and flood mitigation measures, like back flow values, which are not mentioned at all in the Strategy.
Council is holding several public information sessions and I encourage you to attend and make your suggestions known to Council about what development, and importantly new infrastructure, you believe our area needs.
You can email your views to Council here. Submissions must be in by 5pm, Friday 11 December.
Information Kiosk – Sunday, 8 November | 8 – 11am
Boggo Road Markets, Boggo Road, Dutton Park
Talk to A Planner – Tuesday, 10 November | 2 – 4pm & 5 – 7pm
Diana Plaza Hotel, 12 Annerley Road, Woolloongabba
Information Kiosk – Thursday, 12 November | 4 – 6pm
Fairfield Gardens Shopping Centre, 180 Fairfield Road, Fairfield
*** My office will also be open 4pm – 6pm to discuss the Strategy.
Talk to A Planner – Wednesday, 25 November | 2 – 4pm & 5 – 7pm
Yeronga Services Club, 391 Fairfield Road, Yeronga
May 2015
Council has now announced the consultation plan and time frame. Details are available on Council’s website here.
The Plan boundaries are much wider than originally announced and include Fairfield, Dutton Park and parts of Annerley, Yeronga, South Brisbane and Highgate Hill.
I want to work with you to ensure that your views are heard as part of the neighbourhood plan process.
In other parts of the city, Council has used the neighbourhood planning process to increase density and to allow medium and high rise buildings. This comes at the loss of character homes, green spaces and backyards. For example, the future of the Yeronga TAFE and RSPCA sites will be part of this planning process.
I will be working to ensure that any neighbourhood plan protects the unique lifestyle enjoyed by local residents, protects family homes and backyards and improves community infrastructure.
