It was a huge turn out this weekend as hundreds of residents and sporting club members gathered in Wilston to send a clear message to Brisbane City Council.
“Scrap the plan and start again.”
Northside residents have called the LNP-run Council’s plans to overhaul the Enoggera Creek Sports and Recreation Precinct flawed and the “most poorly planned project in history”.
The precinct stretches 2.5 kilometres along Enoggera Creek through multiple suburbs from near the RBWH to Spencer Park in Newmarket.
Council drafted plans to redevelop the area moving a number of sporting groups, adding hard courts, relocating dog parks, building synthetic turf fields and adding 600 car parks.
Local residents and some sporting clubs say they weren’t consulted properly on the plans before the draft was announced.
“Not only did the Brisbane City Council provide a short, disingenuous consultation process over the Easter holidays, but the plan turns much of our beautiful green spaces into carparking or sporting grounds that lock out the public,” rally organiser Dr Cedric Chu said.
“We are concerned this tick and flick attitude to development will have a lasting negative impact on the northern suburbs of Brisbane, its people and wildlife,”
“Once we lose this precious green space in inner city Brisbane, we will never get it back.”
The rally was attended by a number of politicians too, including Council Opposition and Labor Leader, Jared Cassidy.
He says this poor treatment of residents by the LNP-run council is “disgusting, but no surprise”.
“The message to Adrian Schrinner and his LNP Councillors is simple; scrap the plan and start again with proper community consultation,” Labor leader Cr Cassidy said.
“Far too often we see LNP Councillors and the LNP Lord Mayor ignoring, berating and patronising residents when they try to have a meaningful say in local developments or issues,”
“Enough is enough. Residents are sick of it, community clubs and organisations are sick of it and the Labor team in City Hall is sick of it. It’s time for a change.”
Residents have been running a comprehensive campaign on this issue for months now.
They’ve set up a Facebook action group which now has around 900 members, started an e-petition which has already reached over 2,000 signatures, made signs for their fences and even put their messages on billboards.
