Give It Back To The Community

Councillor Helen Abrahams calls for a Community Centre at 1 Orleigh Street, West End.

 

In a statement issued recently, Cr Abrahams said:

Several members of the local community approached me with this idea, and so as I have made mention to other local residents that Council has purchased this house, the response has been unanimous, that Council should keep the building and provide it for a community use.

The existing house is a wonderful character house with enclosed verandas. These buildings are easy to convert into a community facilities building and possibly a child care centre.

The suggestions for a community building include:

·        a meeting space for young mothers

·        a hub for groups of people who wish to come together to create products for sale such as a small social enterprise

·        a Sustainability Centre demonstrating and supporting climate change initiatives

·        an Indigenous History Centre

Several of these activities could be accommodated in this building. Other suggestions include low cost housing, or selling the house to a housing co-operative.

Presently there are 112 community services in the West End Peninsula (Sept 2010).  However, the proposed population increases for the West End peninsula will see the need for additional community facilities.

54% of these current services are meeting the needs of the local community and the remaining 62% of services are considered under threat from development pressures. Churches and child care centres were identified as secure from the gentrification pressures. The 23 boarding houses were considered the most vulnerable.

With a tripling in population there must also be a link with the reciprocal tripling of community services. The purchase of this site provides the Lord Mayor the opportunity to demonstrate his commitment to the existing community and to provide community infrastructure.

Urban renewal is more than building skyscrapers. It is to ensure community facilites are also provided so that people will want to come and live in these areas.

At the moment, the Lord Mayor is simply building skyscrapers and generating congestion.

The Orleigh Street site is being purchased in order to construct a roundabout for the CityGlider bus service at the West End Ferry terminal. A small portion of the site is necessary for the roundabout.  This will leave the dwelling and a sizeable area untouched.  The house could easily remain on site although it may need to be shifted back on the block.

Source: www.westender.com.au

South Brisbane Riverside Neighbourhood Plan

With the population in South East Queensland expected to grow from 2.8 million to 4.4 million by 2031, the Queensland Government’s South East Queensland Regional Plan is aiming to introduce 156,000 new dwellings in Brisbane to accommodate the growth. Established urban areas will be  accommodating up to 138,000 of these dwellings, areas including South Brisbane and West End.

Council is working closely with both communities to develop a neighbourhood plan for the South Brisbane Riverside Area. Feedback from Community Planning Team meetings and several online surveys has provided enough local input to help Council shape and develop a draft renewal strategy for the area.

We are going to be keeping a close eye on the redevelopment and will be in discussions with both Council and Community Organisations to ensure that we can bring you the most current updates on the development.

You can find out more on the Brisbane City Council website or by reading the latest newsletter on the redevelopment