Over the last two years, my office has worked with locals to fight for much needed greenspace in Newstead.
That’s why we’re calling on the Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council to use the undeveloped riverfront land at 17 Skyring Terrace to complete the riverwalk and provide public parkland for this rapidly densifying area.
Apartment living is a reality in the inner city – I live in one with my partner. But, community infrastructure like parks and public transport must come hand in hand with density.
The site at Skyring Terrace was sold to a private developer just after our petition launched, and they lodged a development application which ignored the calls from the community for more greenspace.
Over 700 submissions were made to Council by local residents demanding better. This mounting pressure led to Council requesting significant changes from the developer in their application. Even the Lord Mayor publicly opposed the development after a year of silence, just 9 days before residents took to the polls for the local government elections in March. More recently, the developer has requested a ‘stop’ to their application, meaning they have until September of this year to respond to Council’s further advice request.
But this campaign is not over. For too long, private developers have been allowed to blatantly ignore neighbourhood planning requirements, the needs of the community, and the environment. This has been facilitated by a poorly drafted piece of state legislation known as the Planning Act. Under the Act, planning requirements are not binding, thus community members have no certainty about the future of their neighbourhoods.
This legislation was introduced by Labor in the same year they took more than $270,000 in donations from profit-hungry property developers, so it’s no surprise the system is stacked in their favour. The Greens have been advocating for a complete overhaul of this legislation for years.
Sign our petition to deliver a new riverfront park on Skyring Terrace.