Fortitude Valley has a new local plan that allows for building heights of up to 30 storeys in some precincts – but it’s a vision that has divided City Hall.
City Council earlier this month passed the Neighbourhood Plan that has been three years in the making, but according to the Council opposition it does not allow for sufficient infrastructure to cope with expected population growth.
Neighbourhood Planning chair Cr Amanda Cooper said in March last year that the plan would provide for 22,000 new residents and 75,000 new jobs for the Valley. Cr Cooper said the area would be the second CBD for Brisbane. The CBD currently has about 10,000 residents and about 70,000 office workers who enter the city every weekday.
The Opposition welcomed the population densities proposed and predicted in the plan but said there was insufficient infrastructure provided to cope with that increased growth.
When their amendments were not supported by the LNP Council, Labor councillors opposed the plan at the meeting in early March. Opposition councillors also claimed that heritage property owners should be compensated for their loss of development potential by having “transferrable development rights” which could be sold to other property owners in the Valley area.
Local Councillor David Hinchliffe (Central Ward) said that if the Valley Plan was to accommodate anything like the targets proposed by Cr Cooper, there would need to be a lot more public transport, footpaths, parks and community facilities, including public toilets.
“Opposition councillors support appropriate density in a place like the Valley, but as long as we have appropriate infrastructure to go with it,” Cr Hinchliffe said. “There are no new libraries, indoor sports centres, community centres or parks proposed in the Valley Plan despite the plan proposing a five-times increase in population.
“We don’t disagree with density, but for areas not to become soulless ghettoes we need to have the sort of community infrastructure that make neighbourhoods viable.
“Footpaths or plazas are not a substitute for proper community spaces.”
Cr Hinchliffe said there had been only 36 submissions on the Valley Plan. Some properties, such as Central Brunswick shopping centre owned by Sheik Properties, were shown on the original draft of the plan released for public comment in August last year as allowing up to 15 storeys in development.
The plan revealed in council shows that this has been increased to 25 storeys. Sheik properties were among a number of property owners who made a submission to the council to increase the development potential of their properties. An additional 20 properties would be listed on the council’s heritage register. Cr Hinchliffe said the Valley Chamber of Commerce and he supported all heritage-property owners being given transferrable development rights.
“I think it’s appropriate for some form of compensation for a heritage property owner in the Valley whose property has been sterilised from further development. The easiest way to do that – and at no cost to council – is to provide heritage property owners with the right to sell the 'potential' development of their site to another Valley property owner to add to that owner’s site.
“This benefits the heritage property owner who receives a value for the lost development potential which they can invest in their building and it benefits the buyer who can then add that gross floor area to their site. It costs council nothing.
“The Opposition’s amendments which included more infrastructure for the Valley as well as Transferrable Development Rights were dismissed by the Administration. The plan was then put without any amendments with LNP councillors voting in favour and Opposition councillors opposing.”
Cr David Hinchliffe with the new Valley plan
