Your Centenary Suburbs YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
Summary of the draft Centenary Suburbs Neighbourhood Plan MAIN ELEMENTS OF THE DRAFT PLAN
“Jennifer Street “Monier Road “Old Turf Farm “Mount “Mount Ommaney “Horizon Drive Precinct” Precinct” Precinct” Ommaney Hotel Mixed Use Centre Bushland Precinct” Precinct” Precinct”
“Seventeen Mile “Sinnamon “Centenary Rocks Industrial Farm Heritage Sport & Recreation Precinct” Precinct” Precinct”
Precincts shown on this map are for illustrative purposes only.
CHANGES PROPOSED BY THE NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN:
alternative housing and open space new retail, entertainment, living and office precinct extra protection over bushland preserved employment precincts Most areas not indicated on the map are residential stronger heritage and character protections living areas, where no protected sport and recreation areas. changes are proposed. Ron and Rose Nicoll, why do you love living in Centenary?
“Life here offers us the best of both worlds: a leafy neighbourhood with all the convenience of city life. Our family home is great for entertaining and very comfortable – just like Centenary.”
MT OMMANEY CONTENTS Congratulations Centenary Suburbs 2 Main elements of the Enhancement Program 8 What is Neighbourhood Planning? 3 Main elements of the Statutory Plan 11 About Centenary Suburbs 5 How to respond to the draft Plan 17 About the Neighbourhood Plan 6 Where to from here? 18
CONGRATULATIONS CENTENARY SUBURBS YOU’RE ONE OF A KIND
Your leafy streets, big backyards, pockets of native bushland, convenient shopping and local jobs make you one of Brisbane’s most desirable neighbourhoods to live in. Families love you. People come from everywhere to enjoy your festivals, riverside walks and golf courses and to play in your spectacular riverside park.
No other neighbourhood in Brisbane is quite like you.
We’ve met with lots of people from Centenary Suburbs over the last two years – people who live in the neighbourhood, people who come to work in the local industrial areas and members of your local community groups. We’ve even talked with those who just love to visit your community.
It’s been a great experience for Council’s Neighbourhood Planning team to listen to your thoughts. We’ve combined your ideas with some of our own to prepare a Neighbourhood Plan for the area.
Thanks for helping us plan a brighter future for your neighbourhood. Such teamwork makes your city great and your city council a great example to the world.
Why has Brisbane City Council sent this to you? WE WANT YOU TO HAVE A FINAL SAY ABOUT YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD’S FUTURE
We’ve produced a plan that will help determine what your neighbourhood looks like over the next 10 to 20 years. Now is your final opportunity to comment on this plan and if you want to, suggest changes.
This newsletter summarises the plan to help you decide if you want to read the full document, and respond, before we finalise it. After that we can start to build a better future for Centenary Suburbs, a future that we have planned together.
2 WHAT IS NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING?
Today, Brisbane is at a critical point. It’s under pressure from a rapidly growing population and changing lifestyles. Demand for new housing – and different types of housing – is increasing. Yet there are dwindling stocks of new land for development. We need to work out how to meet the needs of Brisbane people, yet preserve the unique character of our city and the quality of life we value so much. That’s where Neighbourhood Planning comes in.
Neighbourhood Planning brings together representatives from Council and local communities and involves them in the planning process. It’s a way of making sure that everyone who lives, works, or owns property in Brisbane can have a say in the city’s future.
Through Neighbourhood Planning, between 2004 and 2005, more than 55 000 people helped to create Brisbane’s CityShape 2026 (CityShape 2026), a document which guides how and where Brisbane will grow.
Since then people across Brisbane have worked closely with Council to produce detailed, practical plans for their particular neighbourhoods. These Neighbourhood Plans reflect the outcomes of CityShape 2026.
For more information on CityShape 2026 and Neighbourhood Planning, visit www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/neighbourhoodplanning, or call Council on (07) 3403 8698 to request a fact sheet pack.
NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANS CONSIDER IN DETAIL HOW TO ACCOMMODATE POPULATION GROWTH YET PRESERVE GREEN SPACE, PROVIDE BETTER PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND BIKEWAYS, CREATE MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND MORE.
view FROM centenary bridge
3 rocks riverside park
4 ABOUT CENTENARY SUBURBS
Centenary Suburbs is a great place to live. It’s south-west of the CBD and bordered by the beautiful Brisbane River. Most households in the area are families, living in houses with big backyards. The area has schools, shops, child care centres, sporting facilities, parks, bus services, a library, bikeways, a lake, the largest riverside park in the city and a skate park for young people.
It’s a culturally diverse neighbourhood, with many people born in China, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Residents are active in their community through groups such as sporting clubs, bushcare and historical societies.
Most locals use the term ‘Centenary Suburbs’ for the seven suburbs west of the Centenary Highway – Jindalee, Mount Ommaney, Jamboree Heights, Middle Park, Westlake, Riverhills and Sumner. We’ve also included the suburbs of Sinnamon Park and Seventeen Mile Rocks in the Neighbourhood Plan, so the area broadly covers all suburbs in Council’s Jamboree Ward.
The Centenary Suburbs community, or Council’s own studies, said the Neighbourhood Plan should:
• reduce traffic congestion and make streets safer, particularly around, and along Spine Street, Dandenong Road and Sumners Road
• make it safer and easier to access the industrial precinct located off Sumners Road
• improve public transport and make sure services are better connected
• make it safer, easier and more enjoyable to cycle and walk in the neighbourhood
• increase housing options in the area
• improve facilities in local parks
• create more community meeting places
• create more sport and recreation facilities
• protect and enhance waterways, bushland and green spaces
• protect employment areas, like industrial precincts, but encourage ‘cleaner’ industry
• protect the area’s heritage
• create a vibrant entertainment, shopping, working and urban living precinct in the heart of the community.
5 amazon place park
ABOUT THE NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN
There are two parts in a Neighbourhood Plan
Some of the issues facing Centenary Suburbs can be solved with practical, straightforward solutions, like building more bikeways. We compiled a list of the best solutions and called them the Neighbourhood Enhancement Program (Enhancement Program). Council is committed to progressively delivering this program and we’ve already started work.
Other issues will require us to change the regulations that guide how the area can be developed. This involves creating a new, legally-binding document, called the Statutory Neighbourhood Plan (Statutory Plan).
WHILE WE WANT YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS WE HAVE PROPOSED, IT IS CRITICAL YOU MAKE A WRITTEN, FORMAL SUBMISSION IF YOU WANT TO INDICATE YOUR SUPPORT FOR, OR OPPOSITION TO, THE STATUTORY PLAN.
6 centenary bridge
7 THE NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN HAS TWO SECTIONS
THE ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM – Practical Solutions
THE STATUTORY PLAN – A Legal Document
mount ommaney centre underpass
MAIN ELEMENTS OF THE ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM
We’ve already begun making Centenary Suburbs a better place to live.
Neighbourhood enhancements are underway in Centenary Suburbs. We’ve brightened the concrete walls of the Mount Ommaney Centre underpass with scenes of local creeks and wildlife, put directional signage along pathways to the Centre, improved footpaths along Lofts Road, built a barbeque at Dandenong Park and are working with the TransLink Transit Authority to get better park ‘n’ ride facilities at Oxley.
You can view the full list of enhancements Council has planned for Centenary Suburbs over the next ten years in the draft Centenary Suburbs Neighbourhood Plan.
The plan also explains why certain suggestions put forward by the community aren’t possible or may not be achievable in the short-term. Some ideas are simply beyond the influence of Council’s local government powers; others are part of a broader Council strategy or will require us to lobby for funding.
8 Through the Enhancement Program, Council will:
• build a new community centre, with meeting spaces and facilities
• improve safety for local traffic along Sumners Road
• build more bikeways connecting Rocks Riverside Park with Jindalee along the river
• provide a bike shelter at Mount Ommaney Shopping Centre
• work with the TransLink Transit Authority to improve the frequency of bus services
• seal more footpaths in the area, especially near primary schools
• put in new pedestrian crossings at busy intersections
• construct a new district level sports facility nearby (in partnership with the Queensland Government)
• put more trees, shade structures, and other equipment, such as tables, swings and play facilities, into local parks
• rehabilitate local creeks by working alongside the local community
• construct a canoe facility in Riverhills
• and much more!
amazon place park
9 rocks riverside park
10 riverside cycle track
MAIN ELEMENTS OF THE STATUTORY PLAN
Crafting a plan for the future
Like the rest of Brisbane, all development and construction in Centenary Suburbs is directed by the Brisbane City Plan 2000 (City Plan). This is a legal document that shows where new development can go and what can be built.
Normally, City Plan’s rules apply right across the city. The Statutory Plan for Centenary Suburbs is the way City Plan can be refined to suit your neighbourhood. If there are differences between the Centenary Suburbs Neighbourhood Plan and City Plan, the Neighbourhood Plan is followed – one reason why your Neighbourhood Plan is so important!
When the Statutory Plan is finalised, the changes it recommends may not happen straightaway. It’s up to home owners and developers to decide what they want to do with their property and when. For example, the Statutory Plan may allow for units near the shopping centre, but whether or not they are built depends on the property owners.
Also, it will take about six months for the new Neighbourhood Plan to legally come into effect. After this time, land owners still have two years to lodge a development application under the old rules.
We can’t predict the future, but we can use the knowledge and skills we have today to plan for tomorrow.
TOGETHER WE ARE WORKING ON THE FUTURE OF CENTENARY SUBURBS
11 THE NEW STATUTORY PLAN FOR CENTENARY SUBURBS WILL:
KEEP MOST LIVING AREAS UNCHANGED
Much of Centenary Suburbs is classified, or zoned, in City Plan as ‘low-density’. This means land can be used for separate houses up to two storeys in height. In some cases, multi-unit dwellings, like retirement villages and townhouses, may be allowed on very large parcels of land.
The Neighbourhood Plan makes very few changes to these areas. You’ve told us you want your neighbourhoods to remain as they are, so most living areas will keep their existing City Plan zoning.
ENCOURAGE MORE HOUSING OPTIONS
Residents told us there is a shortage of housing options in the area. People like students, young couples, single parent families and older residents are struggling to find homes to suit their needs.
The Neighbourhood Plan identifies a small amount of land near existing golf courses, a school and alongside other open space as suitable for different types of housing, such as duplexes. Refer to map below. New housing must be of a similar scale to existing houses in the area. Other types of housing, like units, will be encouraged around the Mount Ommaney Centre and the Mount Ommaney Hotel.
The Neighbourhood Plan also reclassifies the old turf farm, on Centenary Highway, to allow for additional housing options, such as a retirement village. A substantial part of the site has been set aside for parkland.
Greater choice in living options means locals won’t have to move out of the area when their housing needs change.
Housing diversity precinct
12 THEO HENNEN, how does being a Centenary local work for you?
“Living so near to where I work makes it quick and convenient for me to organise my week and get home after a busy day.”
LCR LINDORES, DARRA
HELP CREATE A NEW ENTERTAINMENT, SHOPPING, WORKING AND URBAN LIVING PRECINCT IN THE HEART OF THE COMMUNITY
For many people, Mount Ommaney Centre is the hub of the community. Indooroopilly Shopping Centre’s stores, cinemas and cafés, just ten minutes drive over the river, are also hugely popular.
Council will use the Neighbourhood Plan to encourage Mount Ommaney Centre to be further developed into a new entertainment, shopping, working and urban living precinct. Ideally, this precinct will include a town square surrounded by restaurants, cafés, new specialty stores, an upgraded bus interchange, walking and cycling links, offices and apartment blocks (up to five storeys in height). New development will be required to feature sustainable, sub-tropical design, underground or multi-storey car parks and high-quality landscaping.
PRESERVE EMPLOYMENT AREAS
The industrial areas of Seventeen Mile Rocks provide local jobs, keep Brisbane’s economy strong and support vital industries, including manufacturing, building and construction. Residents across the region also visit these precincts every day for services like car repairs and dry cleaning and to buy products such as landscaping and building supplies.
The Neighbourhood Plan prevents these employment areas from being replaced by homes or used for other purposes, but encourages the establishment of industries that have minimal impact on surrounding communities. Businesses wishing to expand or establish in the industrial precinct off Monier Road will need to meet stricter requirements, under a new Light Industry classification.
13 Wendy and Daniel Coopers, why do you love shopping in Centenary?
“Mt Ommaney is a great place to shop and easy to park. On weekends we like to go out for a coffee and explore.”
MT OMMANEY SHOPPING CENTRE
14 ROCKS RIVERSIDE PARK
Liesl Burke, with Imogen, Georgia and Jonah. Where do Centenary families come out to play?
“This park is so big with lots of places for the children to run around and play. Often we come after school as well.”
15 PROTECT MORE BUSHLAND
The one thing we’ve heard repeatedly is how much the Centenary Suburbs community values its natural bushland. This is reflected by the large number of environmental groups in the area.
Remnant native bushland on Horizon Drive is part of an important ecological corridor and offers habitat for local wildlife, including koalas. Under the Neighbourhood Plan, additional protection will be given to vegetation on privately-owned land in this precinct. Council-owned land will be used as a conservation park and for low-impact, nature-based recreation.
PROTECT LOCAL HERITAGE
Prior to European settlement, the Centenary area was home to the Jagera Aboriginal tribe. From about the 1840s, the land was used for farming and grazing, with the area known as ‘Jindalee’. The Sinnamon Family was one of the pioneering farming families, settling in Seventeen Mile Rocks in the 1860s. Three of the original Sinnamon farmhouses still remain today.
While the Sinnamon buildings are already listed on the Queensland Heritage Register, Council will use the Neighbourhood Plan to encourage their restoration by allowing accompanying, economically viable development onsite. This could include cafés, community facilities, offices or short-term accommodation.
PRESERVE EXISTING SPORTS AND RECREATION LAND
Council is currently looking to build a new multi-purpose sporting facility, in partnership with the State Government, just south of the area. In the meantime, new regulations in the Neighbourhood Plan will make sure that existing sport and recreation land will continue to be used for this purpose, even if sold. This includes privately-owned facilities, like local golf courses.
16 HOW TO RESPOND to the draft Plan?
Now that you know more about the draft plans for Centenary Suburbs, you have several options.
Option one: Do not submit a response. In this instance, we’ll assume you support the proposals outlined in this document.
Option two: Submit a formal, written comment about the Statutory Plan.
If you want to indicate your support for proposals contained in the Statutory Plan, or raise any objections and have them considered by Brisbane City Council, you must make a formal, written submission.
If you intend to make a submission, we recommend you obtain a copy of the full draft Neighbourhood Plan booklet and a fact sheet outlining how to make a submission. To access copies, call Council on (07) 3403 8698 or go to www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/ neighbourhoodplanning.
It is important that you make your submission during the public notification period or it may not be considered. The public notification period commences on Thursday 30 October 2008 and ends on Friday 12 December 2008.
Option three: Make an informal comment about the Enhancement Program.
We would love to hear your thoughts on the plans and ideas outlined in the Enhancement Program. This part of the Neighbourhood Plan is not a legal document, so you can
• email your comments to [email protected]
• call the Neighbourhood Planning team on (07) 3403 8698
• make a formal, written submission (see option two above).
You can choose to do both option two and option three. If you are unsure what type of comment to submit, please make a written submission.
17 Rocks riverside park
WHERE TO FROM HERE? CENTENARY SUBURBS DRAFT NEIGHBOURHoOD PLAN WORKSHOPS
Council is holding two public workshops where you can find out more about the draft Neighbourhood Plan, talk to a planner, ask specific questions and get more detail on how to have your say. WORKSHOP DETAILS
19 November 2008, 5.30-8pm or 20 November 2008, 2.30-5pm Westlake Room, McLeod Country Golf Club, Gertrude McLeod Crescent, Mount Ommaney
To register, please call (07) 3403 8698. You can attend all, or just part of, a workshop.
18 FINALISING THE PLAN
Council will review and address all written submissions about the Statutory Plan before finalising the Centenary Suburbs Neighbourhood Plan.
The Statutory Plan will be sent to the Queensland Government for final review and approval. It will then be included in City Plan as the legal document that guides development within the area.
The Enhancement Program will be modified as needed, following comments from the community, and work will continue.
WANT TO VIEW THE DRAFT PLAN?
The fastest way to access and download information and the full draft Neighbourhood Plan is online at www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/ neighbourhoodplanning
Don’t have access to a computer at home?
Visit your local Council Library or local Ward Office in Jamboree: Suite 18, Jindalee Allsports Shopping Village, 235 Sinnamon Road, Jindalee.
You can also pick up a copy from Council’s Customer Service Centre: First floor, Brisbane Square, 266 George Street, Brisbane. WANT TO SPEAK TO SOMEONE ABOUT THE DRAFT CENTENARY SUBURBS NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN?
Email: [email protected] Phone: (07) 3403 8698.
Brisbane City Council Environmentally friendly paper For more information visit Information sourced from sustainable forests. www.brisbane.qld.gov.au or call (07) 3403 8888 GPO Box 1434 Brisbane Qld 4001 N2008-02255 © Brisbane City Council 2008