A massive new development has been proposed on Montague Road, right next to Davies Park. Not only does the proposal contravene the local neighbourhood plan and will create further congestion on Montague Road, but it misses a fantastic opportunity to turn the site into a significant expansion to Davies Park and address the shortage of green space in West End.
Quick summary
A developer has lodged an application for two 26 storey high-rise towers on the current TOMRA Recycling Centre site (281 Montague Road) and the QBCC site (297 Montague Road). Both these sites back onto Davies Park. This will include 470 new units, approximately 960 residents, and 728 new carparks. This development is 14 storeys over the height limit in the current neighbourhood plan. The developer is arguing that they should be allowed to build over the height limit in exchange for 0.4 hectares of the site being put aside as public parkland. However, the BCC City Plan states that there should be at least 1.4 hectares of public green space for every 1,000 residents – meaning that the 0.4 hectares doesn't even cover the new residents, let alone representing an increase in public parkland for West End.
The 'formal' submission period closed on 11 June, however there is still time to submit comments that the council assessment officers will read. Council is set to announce their decision very soon, but you still have time to have your say. You can submit your comment here. Information to assist in your submission can be found on State MP Amy MacMahon's website.
How to get involved
Councillor Jonathan Sri, State MP Amy MacMahon and I are calling for the council and state government to buy this site and turn it into public parkland. But for this to be successful, we will need to build a strong community mobilisation to create sufficient pressure and get outcomes. If you are interested in being involved in this community campaign, please head to Amy MacMahon's website where you can join the campaign mailing list and help build the community campaign to win.