AUSBUILD has pulled out of a 270-lot development at Victoria Point, saying that council backtracked on a structure plan process.
Ausbuild joint managing director Michael Loney said Ausbuild had worked with Redland City Council for five years before council in March deferred a decision on the development until more planning was done.
Council voted in October to do its own structure plan of the area earmarked for development for years by the state government.
The plan – to be finalised in September next year – would review information from developers and include council-initiated studies.
In May last year, council asked Fiteni Homes to prepare a structure plan for a Double Jump Road site for which the developers had submitted an application for a 176-lot development.
In a 1300-page submission that included the plan, Fiteni said council had been given a draft plan layout and design, with feedback being discussed with council officers.
“With many matters this involved multiple meetings, iterations of designs, technical reporting and feedback to arrive at agreed outcomes,” Fiteni said.
“The applicant engaged with council representatives on multiple occasions to discuss particular matters.
“In December 2017, this included a presentation of the structure plan to full council and responding to councillor queries at the time as well as specific follow-up questions.”
Fiteni refused to say how much their work had cost while Mr Loney said their investment had been intensive.
Mayor Karen Williams said council had received input from Ausbuild and other developers but council’s role was to represent the entire community.
“Council appreciates Ausbuild’s input, which will help inform the final structure plan, but council’s structure plan needs to take into account the entire community,” Cr Williams said.
“Council committed to doing a structure plan so the area was planned and grew in a way that ensured infrastructure matched the growth.
“It is about ensuring our city has a plan in place to manage its growth.
“The recent commencement of the structure planning process will ensure all landowners, stakeholders – including the state government – and the broader community will have the opportunity to have their say on an appropriate structure plan for the area.”
A council spokesperson said some studies submitted with development applications would reduce work required by council.
Mr Loney said Ausbuild had addressed “every council question and concern with a team of technical experts”.
“It was a collaborative approach of continuous feedback and review as well as an intensive investment on Ausbuild’s part of time, effort and resources, with several major concessions made,” Mr Loney said.
Fiteni application
Developer Fiteni Homes last month applied to develop 300 houses with an average size of 462 square metres on nine lots fronting Double Jump Road, adjacent to the site in last year’s application.
The latest development would be built in 12 stages, with 30 to 50 lots per stage. The plan includes a local centre, two parks and open spaces.
The latest application followed council’s inclusion of the area as an emerging community in the Redland Planning Scheme adopted on October 8.
Fiteni Homes land development manager Vaughn Bowden said the developer would undertake voluntary, innovative community engagement on their application.
“We will be talking with families, children, sport clubs and community groups to understand what is important to them and how development in this area can meet their needs,” Mr Bowden said.
“We want to incorporate the community’s knowledge and needs into the planning for this new community.”
Mr Bowden said consultation so far had found the community wanted a natural bushland setting, parks, diverse recreation opportunities, pedestrian and cycle paths, convenience stores and services such as childcare facilities.