A REDLAND Bay couple fear their tranquil lifestyle will be ruined by council's Weinam Creek redevelopment which will likely see their home flanked by a car park, three-lane boat ramp and 33-unit block.
Mark and Jocelyn Ball's house on Auster Street - where they have lived for 24 years - is in the Weinam Creek priority development area.
Redland City Council has published plans that include a car and boat park on Moores farmland behind the Ball's house and a boat ramp, opposite the one presently used. The development's first stage is being led by council's subsidiary, Redland Investment Corporation.
Developers have applied to build a 33-unit waterfront block on a 3500 square metre site on Auster Street opposite the Ball's home.
The couple said they had spoken to council, RIC and Redlands MP Kim Richards but no one was sympathetic to the Ball's situation.
"We have just been pushed from pillar to post," Mrs Ball said. "There is no consultation and we don't get any choice in what is done. It is just sickening. They are going to ruin this street."
Mr Ball said that he regarded the car park and boat ramp as regression, not progress.
A council spokesperson said there had been extensive communication using methods like websites, media releases and letterbox drops and information handed out at the Weinam Creek ferry terminal and on the bay islands.
Asked what impact the car park would have on the amenity of neighbouring residents, the spokesperson said that details of the applications, reports, assessments and decisions were at dsdmip.qld.gov.au/economic-development-queensland/current-applications-and-approvals.html.
Mr Ball said the council had spent more than $3 million to buy land at Cleveland Point so it would not be developed but at Redland Bay was destroying the open space.
He said car parks for Southern Moreton Bay Island residents could be outside the PDA and public transport provided between it and the ferry terminal. It was a waste to replace the boat ramp at Weinam Creek.
The council spokesperson said the boat ramp off Auster Street had been planned since 2014. "...(It) frees up parking for ferry users, makes room for a safer bus route and new loop road and improves pedestrian access for commuters," the spokesperson said.
The existing boat ramp would be used exclusively for emergency services.
"Parking for the new recreational boat ramp will offer larger parking facilities designed for car and trailer parking (currently taking up 25 per cent of the existing available space)," the spokesperson said.
Mr Ball said he had been told submissions about projects in the PDA were considered by a committee consisting of two state government and two council representatives, which he regarded as a conflict when council's subsidiary was the project developer.
The council spokesperson said that the planning minister had established the committee which must assess applications according to PDA planning scheme and legislation and consider the submissions made.
A Planning Department spokesperson said the PDA was declared by the previous government at the request of the Redland City Council.
"Within the PDA, the council and Economic Development Queensland jointly hold planning and assessment powers," the spokesperson said.
