May I ask you to join me for a brief stroll? It won’t take long and walking is best right now. We’ll start at the Cleveland Post Office and head East down Middle St. keeping an eye out for cranes. Not the feathered ones, but rather the long necked, metal variety.
In just a short distance we will see the back of a large block of units, 80 or so apartments, just over on Shore St. while immediately beside us, an advertised, soon to be built block. Another 80 more right here.
The old Queenslander is for sale
Then as we amble on, you’ll note the cleared block ready for another development as soon as the old Queenslander next to it is sold.
Passing the RSL at the corner of Passage St. we can enjoy the beginning of the serious crane territory. Numerous low level units being built on the demolished, historic bakery site and then our own version of Surfers Paradise: Builders Paradise.
A proposed block of 100 or so units to surround the Bay Air motel and then the growing block towards the ferry terminal, 80 heading skyward, and another up Cross St. – 25 more units. And around the corner on Shore St. North, the Redland City Bulletin recently reported that the old Masonic Hall is now sold and is “about to be redeveloped”. It’s worth pausing her to note that the 200 units now under way here, or approved to commence, occupy the sites of 8 former houses.
More units to be developed next to the giant fig tree
But please keep moving, and head towards the Grand View Hotel with a proposed 7 storey, 50 apartment block building to go beside it. It is so placed to dwarf the pub and its ancient giant fig tree whilst wiping out a number of mature eucalypts in the process.
Then head down the hill to pass by what was a single old Queenslander now carved into six 200 m2 blocks and, whew, we’ll finish up at what was Father Nolan’s old home on Cross Lane. This is now being pile driven in preparation to create 12, 3 storey town houses.
And what do we have all up? Approximately 400 units or apartments being built or ready for approval. And why did we walk this? Because soon that’s all anyone will be able to do in order to get about. 400 apartments with 3 or more bedrooms equates to 1,200 people and probably 600 plus more vehicles, in an already high traffic area, will create permanent gridlock for an area where there is only one way in and out.
Reducing road congestion
Mayor Williams’ election campaign promise
Our mayor campaigned on reducing road congestion. The new budget has allocated money for cosmetic road resurfacing and footpath upgrades which will do nothing to relieve the impending car coagulation in this area – and this without even considering the potential 10,000 new citizens that will be accommodated in the proposed, and destructively dredged Moreton Bay suburb: the mis-named, Toondah Harbour project.
Our perambulation covered a little over two kilometres but the development we’ve seen here is symptomatic of the malignant mismanagement of our previously green and open Redlands.
What was once a city of homes with yards, grass and trees, of sunshine and light is being transformed into an ugly cityscape of high building walls and traffic turmoil. No new schools for the children that will live in these units, no new playgrounds, no new sewerage facility, no road plan to handle the immense increase in traffic. No hope for wildlife nor for a good life.
The previous Council, controlled by our current mayor, unleashed countless bulldozers blasting the Redlands towards an unplanned, uncoordinated and soul-destroying rabble of development. The current Council has a chance to redress the mess. I urge them to do so in the hope that we may walk comfortably again in a city where people and wildlife are prized more than profit.
Dr Brian Whitelaw
Cleveland
Further reading
Apartment construction is booming in Cleveland
Cleveland train station development plans
Published by Redlands2030 – 5 August 2016
Please note: Offensive or off-topic comments will be deleted. If offended by any published comment please email thereporter@redlands2030.net
13 Comments
Yes! You have got the say. The people have none. We have lived here since Cleveland was a nice country town. We are so disappointed with what is called progress.
Exactly, it’s not what you know but WHO you know obviously. I’ve been paying rates on Lamb Island for 44 years and still have a bush track in front of my land.
I hope current Council will listen to these complaints. I find it that in most places around the globe people on key position are always scared to turn down millions of dollars from potential investors because if things go downhill and the city’s budget is nowhere to be found they will have to explain why they did that. And I mean only the people that really want to help and who don’t work under any influence.
Dav interesting, after the election Talty Road gets sealed. The staff told me it has never been on the list the only ones that live there are Julie Talty and her in=laws, and yes they didn’t pay for that road. I also heard that Mayor Williams was waiting until after the election to get the road through her placed sealed at ratepayers expense as she has another block of land on top of the hill which needed better access. The Road cant be accessed by the general public as she has a gate on it, but the Council officers were not happy
Just checked out “Talty Road” on Google Satelite… IT’S A PRIVATE DRIVE! Leading to 2 houses! One, from what you tell me, is the Julie Talty and husband’s residence and the other her in-laws. How, Why and When did it become a public road and named “Talty Road”? If ratepayer’s money has been spent on this, surely we all have the right to drive up and down it whenever we wish. I bet Ms Talty would not be happy about that… and how happy would the many ratepayers on the the Bay Islands, who have been waiting years for their roads to be sealed, feel about this.
The Minutes of the 10 Aug Council Meeting will be most illuminating as we will see which councillors are pro development at any price.
I am still in shock that Ms Williams was reelected and wonder why so many voted for her?
Martha
Martha, people don’t think any further than the end of their noses unfortunately. To have to go and vote just ruins their day.
Barbara
Toni speaks of the old days…I say the good old days, when, as pointed out, developers had to leave space for parkland and open space. Livability in any given area is unimportant in Redlands as a mayor who would sell neighbourhood parks has shown us how she feels about community wellbeing. While in my neighbourhood park yesterday spoke with family visiting from NZ who stated that with our high rates, better maintenance is to be expected. Old small slide with most of paint worn off, with double swings is only equipment there erected more than 35 years ago as I arrived mid-1986. Lord Mayor of Bne Graham Quirk values neighbourhood parks, would never sell any, but instead enhances existing ones, and creates new ones, as needed. With childhood obesity a growing problem, youngsters need to get away from computers and into local parks for exercise and play. Mayor should work towards making the slogan a reality that reads: Redlands, the best place to live, work and play. No time like the present!
What a shame that Cleveland is being destroyed by the enormous number of units that have been and are being built in this once beautiful and quiet area. The rush to build still more units without any local parks or greenspace is unbelievable. If the plans for Toondah Harbour do get going and that’s a big IF why would anyone want to live in the units built over the water (without taking into consideration that Moreton Bay is a Ramsar protected area) as they would have a dreadful entrance to the harbour! Hundreds and hundreds of units with no greenspace, no trees, just concrete and brick and whatever else they can be built out of.
The whole thing is being pushed by developers and council led by the same mayor who promised to fix the roads.
What a shame the new council we thought we were getting hasn’t turned out to be what we hoped for. There has been no change.
When we who took part in the developing of the Redlands 2030 Community plan were looking to the future, this is not the future we had hoped for.
Cleveland is turning into a total disaster and how sad is that?
I’m afraid to follow Brian’s walk…the cranes are so busy it gets worse every day. Where is the design, where is the livability, where is the balance.
Back in the old days developers had to provide money or land for local parks, now days it is development at any cost. The 1200 new residents will need open space, research into living in units shows that parks and treed areas are important for livablity. The pocket park in Bloomfield Street with plastic grass hopefully isn’t the communities best option. These units only provide one carpark per unit so soon we will see the streets cluttered with cars, maybe drive into Brisbane and see the parking issues and visualise what’s ahead for Cleveland
And what about developers providing local roads? Why didn’t the original developers provide the sealed road at Talty Ct, Mount Cotton off West Mount Cotton Road that is currently under construction? Why is it now being sealed at ratepayer’s expense?
I am absolutely appalled with all this development. It is ugly and has changed the Redlands for ever. Of course we have to have progress, but at what cost to those of us who have lived here for 53 years and for our children and grandchildren. Our Grandchildren will never be able to buy their own home and this is just so sad to see our Australian way of life obliterated for the almighty dollar. As for the build up of traffic. I would like our Mayor to come and live on Birkdale Road for a week, then she might wake up to the future traffic problems these developments will cause. Then again she probably wouldn’t.