Brisbane City Council’s Local Government infrastructure plan (LGIP) amendments process has been mired in controversy since it sent letters to some 14,995 property owners across Brisbane concerning draft changes impacting their properties. (See the link to our story below).
But the LGIP is about a great deal more, and we can provide feedback to Council on what we like, what we would like to see changed, and what we would like to see included.
Time is short – we now only have until Thursday 14 September 2023 to get our submissions in.
Councils are required by the State Government to periodically plan and review where infrastructure, such as roads, parks and drainage, may be required in the future to meet community needs.
Community Forum
On Sunday, 3 September, The Gabba Ward Councillor, Trina Massey, and State MP Amy MacMahon held a community meeting to delve into the proposed amendments to the LGIP and to gather input from community members and representatives of local community groups.
Representatives of Kurilpa Futures, West End Community Association, and West End Football Club attended, along with residents anxious about the impact on their homes of proposed parks in West End and South Brisbane.
Cr Massey told the forum that, under the Minister’s rules and guidelines, Council can only now make changes to the LGIP that address issues raised in a submission received during the consultation period. She said submissions must give grounds for the issue and give clear evidence supporting those grounds.
Cr Massey took the group through the previous LGIP and the proposed amendments.
Discussion centred on the increasing need for park spaces, emphasising the desire for an expanded Riverside parkland.
The meeting also identified the need for sports fields and more workable connectivity across the Ward by developing bike-ways and pedestrian infrastructure.
The expansion of resources at the West End Library with a possible community centre got the group excited, including the suggestion to incorporate the Council’s neighbouring property at 174 Boundary St, West End (Kurilpa Hall), into an expanded Kurilpa Library and community centre.
Several street intersection projects were also identified.
Submission
In her submission, Cr Massey lists support for:
- The completion of the Kangaroo Point Riverwalk (Dockside Ferry Terminal to Mowbray Park);
- Kangaroo Point Bikeway;
- Green Bridges between Toowong and West End, and St Lucia and West End;
- Funding for an upgrade to Musgrave Park;
- Upgrades to Orleigh Park and Riverside Drive;
- The inclusion of a Victoria Street Ferry Terminal;
- Land acquisition to provide local community centre and library extension.
Cr Massey notes that the LGIP has not included critical cycling infrastructure on Vulture Street and Dornoch Terrace, nor some high-priority park establishment projects.
Cr Massey said she used the feedback from the 3 September forum as the basis for her submission to Council. She acknowledges that the document is dense, saying, “there is very little information on the projects within the LGIP, for most projects there is no design concept or parameters for delivery. This does make it hard for feedback.”
She said her office has “worked to deliver a feedback based on consultation with community and historical knowledge based on the work the Gabba Office has done over the past seven years.”
Make a Submission
You can read Cr Massey’s submission HERE. If you do not agree with Cr Massey’s conclusions, the submission provides a useful structure to adapt for your own use.
The Council provides an interactive map to view the draft LGIP, and information about how to make a submission can be found here.
Submissions close on 14 September at 11:59 p.m.
RELATED STORY HERE
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