Residents have voiced their strong opposition to two proposed developments in Brisbane’s inner west.

A 31-storey building in Railway Terrace and another massive residential and commercial complex at the Milton tennis centre site have raised anger among locals.

Peter Taylor reports.

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TRANSCRIPT

They’re called CRAMED – the Concerned Residents Against Milton’s Excessive Developments group – and they’re furious over two huge developments planned for their area.

Resident one: “It seems as if what exists will be destroyed and we’re just going to get whatever we get.”

Resident two: “We all wanna live near the city but not at the risk of actually destroying what makes our cities great.”

Resident three: “The State Government and the Brisbane City Council have got to use their powers because after all it is a democracy. We are here, we are the people.”

This is the old Milton Tennis Centre site. The current proposal seeks approval for 660 units, 120 hotel rooms and 34,000 square metres of commercial space to be put right there.

Elizabeth Handley, CRAMED Chairman: “The proposed development for that site is just extraordinary. It’s 500 times what was allowed by the court, the planning and environment court.”

If the State Government approves the application, the land would be split into eight blocks of up to 20-storey high buildings.

The state government is under pressure to find high density accommodation for Brisbane’s rapidly expanding population.

But residents say Milton simply cannot support a project of this size.

Elizabeth Handley, CRAMED Chairman: “A lot of the infrastructure here was put in in the sixties and it is already starting to strain. Transport in this area is already starting to fail.”

Council agrees that the developments will have a significant impact on the area and that the State Government should make the Seymour Group comply with the original standards that expire in September this year.

Coun Peter Matic, Toowong councillor: “I have great concerns for the size and scale of this development it contravenes the initial court order that was granted on that site of 174 units to a maximum of eight storeys.”

Locals are also opposed to a 31-storey proposed building on Railway terrace.

The development, which residents are calling the finger, has been called in by the State Government meaning the decision made cannot be appealed by local communities.

Peter Taylor, QUT News