A VICTORIA Point resident says she feels "let down" over the management of a public reserve that separates housing and a local shopping centre, outlining in an address to Redland City Council the anti-social issues plaguing residents.
It was the first time a community member had spoken at a council general meeting since December last year, with public participation closed in January and February amid a spike in COVID cases.
Maria Sealey, whose property on Sycamore Parade adjoins the Teak Lane reserve, told councillors on Wednesday that residents were still battling anti-social behaviour and criminal activity filtering in from Victoria Point Town Centre.
The long-time resident said issues in the area included drug use, vandalism, graffiti and people urinating in public gardens.
"We have a Tavern that unfortunately closes at 4am ... right behind a residential area. We are in the firing line on the easement," Mrs Sealey said.
"We bought our land back in 1983 and built our property right on the easement. Our carport is right there."
Redland City Council won a court case in 2017 over a development application which sought to convert Teak Lane reserve into a car park for the adjacent shopping centre.
It came after the council handed over its trusteeship of the land to the state government in 2014, before backflipping on the decision in 2016 and asking for the trusteeship to be returned so the area could be maintained as open space.
In November that year, five councillors voted to refuse the development application for a car park, which ultimately saw the matter land in the Planning and Environment Court.
Mrs Sealey, who has been a long-time campaigner for Teak Lane, said she had been prompted to address the council after a recent incident in the area where a police officer was pinned to the ground and assaulted.
"Within about two or three minutes, we had about four police cars on Sycamore Parade to apprehend these juveniles," she said.
"It is consistent in there. Unfortunately, drug activity is also very rife in there because it is a concealed space."
A council spokeswoman said Redland City Council was investigating the potential of providing alternate access from Sycamore Parade to the shopping centre.
She said the council had completed work in the area to address community safety, including installing lights and improving laneway access for security patrols.
"Council has long met with and supported the residents neighbouring Teak Lane, Victoria Point in their concerns about safety in the area ...," a council spokeswoman said.
Mrs Sealey said she was confident issues would be addressed now that Victoria Point Town Centre was under new ownership. ASX-listed consortium HomeCo acquired the complex for $160 million last year.
She called for the council to "come on board" and look after the area.
"Since 1983, we [residents] have been looking after council property with no money, doing it off our own backs," Mrs Sealey said.
"After the court case, we have invested a lot of effort financially, mentally and emotionally into the corridor and our adjoining area to keep it safe."
A council spokeswoman said the council also commissioned security to lock the gate at Teak Lane daily, but Mrs Sealey said it was often left unlocked after the 10pm curfew.
Read more local news here.