Neighbourhood Planning Brisbane| City Planning & Economic Development
Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Neighbourhood Plan Draft Strategy
Summary of feedback
December 2016
Draft Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Neighbourhood Plan Strategy |Summary of feedback Page 2
Neighbourhood Planning Brisbane| City Planning & Economic Development
This report has been produced by:
Neighbourhood Planning Brisbane | Brisbane City Council
Brisbane Square, 266 George St, Brisbane QLD 4000
GPO Box 1434, Brisbane QLD 4001
December 2016
For enquiries about the contents please contact:
Mark Leary, Senior Urban Planner, (07) 3403 8888
Disclaimer: This document is solely for the purpose of facilitating Neighbourhood Planning by Neighbourhood Planning Brisbane, Brisbane City Council.
Draft Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Neighbourhood Plan Strategy |Summary of feedback Page 1
Neighbourhood Planning Brisbane| City Planning & Economic Development
Contents
Executive Summary 2
1 General Feedback Received from the Community 4
1.1 Online Feedback Form 4
1.2 Written Submissions 7
2 Issues and responses 9
2.1 Traffic and congestion 9
2.2 Housing Diversity 17
2.3 Environment 21
2.4 Active travel 25
2.5 Other issues 26
4
Neighbourhood Planning Brisbane| City Planning & Economic Development
Executive Summary
Council commenced the review of the Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron neighbourhood plan in September 2015.
The community has provided feedback via various events and activities since the commencement of this project (refer to Table 1), including online survey and feedback form, in person at information kiosks and as part of the community planning team, or by phone or email.
Table 1 - Summary of Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Community Engagement Activities
Event type / Date and location / Topic /Information kiosks / Tuesday 12 April 2016, Ferny Grove Shopping Village / CPT recruitment and issues and awareness
Thursday 14 April 2016, Ferny Grove Shopping Village / CPT recruitment and issues and awareness
Wednesday 26 October 2016, Ferny Grove Shopping Village / Draft Strategy Issues and awareness
Thursday 27 October 2016, Ferny Grove Shopping Village / Draft Strategy Issues and awareness
Saturday 29 October 2016, Upper Kedron Recreation Reserve / Draft Strategy Issues and awareness
Saturday 29 October 2016, Walton Bridge Reserve, The Gap / Draft Strategy Issues and awareness
CPT meetings / 19 May 2016 – Ferny Grove Bowls Club / Introduction, Cedar Woods, planning issues
16 June 2016 – Ferny Grove Bowls Club / Vision, developing a strategy
14 July 2016 – Ferny Grove Bowls Club / Vision, neighbourhood planning principles
18 August 2016 – Ferny Grove Bowls Club / Draft neighbourhood plan strategy
Online surveys / November 2015 – March 2016 / Issues identification
Online Feedback Form / October – November 2016 / Draft strategy feedback
Newsletters / #1 November 2015 / Plan commencement, process and objectives
#2 April 2016 / CPT nomination
#3 October 2016 / Draft strategy concepts and feedback opportunities
E-bursts (email updates) / #1 April 2016 / Nominate for CPT, dates for information kiosks
#2 June 2016 / Project update and CPT minutes
#3 October 2016 / Draft strategy release, how to have your say
Social Media / Regular social media posts throughout the project, particularly at key consultation phases of the project / Nominate for CPT, dates for kiosks, feedback opportunities, ‘how to have your say’, draft Strategy feedback
The draft Strategy was released for public comment from Monday 10 October to Monday 7 November 2016. 330 submissions were received, of which 202 were online feedback form submissions and 128 were written submissions.
During the public comment period four information kiosks were held to give the local community the opportunity to speak with representatives from Council before finalising their comments. More than 100 people attended.
The key issues raised were:
· address traffic congestion by providing new road infrastructure, with a focus on access to Mt Nebo Road for general traffic
· protect and expand greenspace
· opposition to higher density development
· confirm the scale and form of development proposed within the proposed housing diversity and urban edge areas.
Feedback on the draft Strategy was used to prepare the draft Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Neighbourhood Plan which has been submitted to the Queensland State Government for review, prior to being publicly notified in early 2017.
Within the draft neighbourhood plan the following matters have been addressed in response to the key issues raised in the community feedback:
· the preferred local road hierarchy has been outlined, confirming the continued need to upgrade the local road network relative to development in the area, including the ‘State owned’ corridor from Levitt Road to Samford Road, but does not include a general traffic connection to Mt Nebo Road
· the preferred housing diversity outcomes for the Cedar Creek South area and how the gradation of development from Canvey Road to Mt Nebo Road will be achieved through different dwelling unit densities prescribed in the proposed precincts, and
· the extent of greenspace to be protected is addressed in the proposed amendments to the Biodiversity Overlay as part of a different Major Amendment process, and confirmation of the importance of considering ecological and greenspace outcomes in future development proposals in the area.
The Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Neighbourhood Plan will regulate development in the area once it has been adopted into Brisbane's planning scheme, Brisbane City Plan 2014.
1. General Feedback Received from the Community
Council received 330 submissions of which 202 were online feedback form submissions and 128 were written submissions.
This report presents:
· online respondents’ overall level of support for the strategy
· what online respondents liked most and least about the strategy
· online respondents’ suggestions for improving the strategy
· detailed analyses of issues raised by online respondents and through email submissions; and
· how the draft neighbourhood plan addresses key issues.
1.1 Online Feedback Form
Online feedback form respondents were asked to indicate their level of support for the draft Strategy overall and for a number of specific elements of the draft Strategy. Respondents were also given the option of providing comments in open text boxes.
Overall level of support for draft Strategy
Online feedback form respondents were asked to rate their overall level of support for the draft Strategy on a scale of 0 (low) to 10 (high). The most common rating (36%) of respondents was 5 out of 10. Approximately 34% of respondents gave the draft Strategy a rating between 6 and 10, and 30% gave the strategy a rating of less than 5 (See Figure 1 below).
Most liked aspects of draft Strategy
Online feedback form respondents were asked to describe what they liked best about the draft Strategy (120 respondents answered this question). The most strongly supported aspects of the draft Strategy (see Figure 2 below) include:
· provides for housing diversity (45%)
· protects / expands the greespace in the area (33.3%)
· proposes new pedestrian cycle links (18.3%), and
·
provides a new centre at Canvey Road (15%).
Figure 2: Most liked aspects of the Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Neighbourhood Plan draft Strategy
Least liked aspects of draft Strategy
Online feedback form respondents were asked to describe what they liked least about the draft Strategy (152 respondents answered this question). The least preferred aspects of the draft Strategy (see Figure 3 below) include:
· does not address traffic / congestion in the area (48.7%)
· does not provide sufficient access to Mt Nebo Road (32.9%), and
· opposition to higher density development (27.6%).
Figure 3 Least liked aspects of the Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Neighbourhood Plan draft Strategy
Suggestions for improving the draft Strategy
Online feedback form respondents were asked for their suggestions for improving the draft Strategy (149 respondents answered this question). The top three suggestions for improving the draft Strategy (see Figure 4 below) included:
· providing access to Mt Nebo Road for general traffic (37.6%)
· providing new road infrastructure (24.8%); and
· preserving / increasing greenspace (21.5%).
Figure 4 Suggestions for improving the Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Neighbourhood Plan draft Strategy
1.2 Written Submissions
128 written submissions were received. 55 of these were individual submissions and raised issues similar to the online feedback form respondents, being:
· support for providing access to Mt Nebo Road for general traffic (58%)
· protecting / expanding greenspace (44%)
· opposition to higher density development (35%); and
· addressing congestion (33%).
A further 73 submissions were based on a ‘proforma’ response statement, which focus on four key issues:
· improve infrastructure including roads
· improve strategy engagement and communications process
· improve pedestrian and cycle links; and
· address congestion.
For more information about the issues raised in these submissions refer to Figure 5 below.
Figure 5 Issues raised in email submissions for the Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Neighbourhood Plan draft Strategy
2. Issues and responses
This section provides more detail on the issues raised and how Council has responded in the draft neighbourhood plan. The key issues are:
· Traffic and congestion
· Housing diversity
· Environment
· Active travel
· Other issues.
2.1 Traffic and congestion
Road network
Concerns about traffic congestion and the local road network were raised in up to half of the written submissions (between 33% and 48% of respondents).
Generally there was a positive response that transport issues, including transport infrastructure improvements and upgrades to existing intersections and connector roads, and improved access to Samford Road had been acknowledged in the draft Strategy.
Online feedback form respondents expressed general dislike that the draft Strategy did not address traffic congestion on Samford Road and commented on an apparent lack of transport infrastructure to support development such as small lot and unit development. Respondents also noted that an over reliance on Samford Road could mean that residents cannot get in and out of the area during an emergency.
Public transport
Regarding public transport, 8.3% of online feedback form respondents stated that the proposed improvements to public transport were one of the things they liked most about the draft Strategy. However, 16.4% said that public transport still needed to be improved, and a further 5.9% said that a lack of parking space at the train station was a major issue.
Some written respondents proposed that any future bus service loop must continue past Levitt Road to service the new developments at the Palisades and Cedar Woods (Ellendale).
Key issues
Mt Nebo Road
· There is a mixed opinion within the community with regards to whether a direct general traffic road connection should be provided to Mt Nebo Road. Online feedback form respondents included requests for a new road access from Upper Kedron via Mt Nebo Road (37% to 39% of respondents) as well as support to Council’s proposal to limit access to Mt Nebo Road for emergency services only (44% of respondents).
· The draft neighbourhood plan does not include general traffic access to Mt Nebo Road due to the likely lack of improvement to trip time, lack of demand, cost, impact on the environment and fauna movement, and bushfire hazard.
Extension of Levitt Road across Cedar Creek and through to Samford Road as shown on the current neighbourhood plan.
· Respondents identified the future transport corridor investigation area shown in the current neighbourhood plan as a possible improvement to the local road network to address the congestion issues.
· The draft neighbourhood plan retains the State road corridor in the Road hierarchy Overlay map, it is a State controlled regional corridor identified for preservation. The draft neighbourhood plan does not propose the extension of Levitt Road for local movement in Upper Kedron as upgrades to the existing district roads in Ferny Grove and Upper Kedron are proposed to service the whole community.
Samford Road upgrade
· The upgrade of Samford Road was raised, including support (48.7% strongly agree) for a new connection to Samford Road west of the Ferny Grove station.
· As Samford Road is a State road, the draft neighbourhood plan does not propose upgrades to it. Council will consult with the Queensland Government as part of the state interest review process.
Local road improvements for safety and capacity
· Up to half of the respondents (48%) felt that the key connection and intersections for future upgrades had been properly identified.
· The draft neighbourhood plan is consistent with this and identifies an extension of the district road network in Upper Kedron to support improved public transport links and create transport travel efficiencies.
Provision of road infrastructure before more development
· There is overall community sentiment that infrastructure should be provided prior to development occurring.
· The draft neighbourhood plan complies with the interim Local Government Infrastructure Plan and Sustainable Planning Act 2009 and as a result road upgrades required by new development are included in development approval conditions.
Ferny Grove railway station park and ride facility is not sufficient
· As the Ferny Grove station is the end of the train line, the park and ride facility is used by residents of the plan area as well as the neighbouring Moreton Regional Council residents.
· The draft neighbourhood plan does not propose any changes to the car parking arrangements at the station as it is managed by Queensland Rail. The Ferny Grove car park is one of the largest on the network, having been expanded in recent years. Management of the car park and consideration of future capacity are a matter for Queensland Rail and the Department of Transport and Main Roads.