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The new Redlands Institute has called for further community engagement on the Cleveland Master Plan and has questioned the effectiveness of the public consultation process in its submission to Redland Shire Council.
The Institute has criticised the proposed Plan’s ‘almost total
emphasis’ on built form and town planning issues which it says has not
assimilated well with other equally or more important Council and
community strategies.
Institute President Gunther de Grave, said the finalisation of the
Master Plan with the full engagement of the wider community was vital
if the document was to deliver a sustainable future for the new City
that was supported by one united Redlands voice.
“We congratulate Council on its initiative in starting to address the deficiencies in the current Town Centre”
“While we applaud the Council for its efforts at consultation,
the processes that are entrenched within its administration are in
danger of tokenism,” Mr De Graeve said.
“As it is, our close analysis of the Master Plan’s deliverables
highlighted several gaps that cannot go unaddressed and do require much
more rigorous community and stakeholder input,” he said.
Amongst the Institute’s criticisms are the lack of a focus
within the Plan for one of the key issues for the City’s future, the
creation of a opportunities to build the local economy including issues
relating to new business, job and wealth creation within the City.
“As our analysis has found, Cleveland is currently
under-represented in commercial job opportunities, notwithstanding a
relatively highly trained and experienced work force,” Mr De Graeve
says.
“It is also under-represented in the provision of quality and boutique
retail facilities even though the City has a higher level of
discretionary spending that the wider statistical district of Brisbane
– the figures are easily accessible from the Australian Bureau of
Statisics. It just doesn’t stack up,” he said.
Other issues critical to Cleveland’s future are related to
traffic, parking and transport infrastructure which, the Institute
says, remains one of the biggest long-term challenges for the City as a
whole, and they require a visionary approach.
“Movement systems are in a pitiful state throughout Redlands
City with growing and unresolved tension between private motor vehicle
and public transport use that is nowhere more evident than in Cleveland
Town Centre,” Mr De Graeve said. At the same time, Mr De Graeve said.
At the same time, Mr De Graeve said the Institute was highly critical of Council’s policies on the use of public land.
He said that, in its efforts to relieve parking, the Council has
historically graded and allocated public land for use as car parking
rather than looking at the creating vibrant, exciting options for
public open space.
“This is not a tenable, long-term strategy and we very much doubt that the community can be in support of it,” he said.
The Institute has also criticised the Master Plan’s silence on affordable housing issues.
“A comprehensive Master Plan should provide opportunities for
the Council to facilitate affordable housing if we are to give our
children a future,” Mr De Graeve said.
“By adding development entitlements in appropriate areas and
providing rate and infrastructure concessions, there should be an
opportunity to optimise home ownership for the generation of Redlanders
who are already being disadvantaged by rising property prices,” he
said.
The Redlands Institute has approached Mayoral Elect, Melva
Hobson, to look at opportunities for a collaborative partnership with
the Council to enhance community engagement processes.
“While we are critical of some aspects of the Cleveland Master Plan,
our organisation has a commitment to assisting the Mayor in the
institutional strengthening we believe is necessary to ensure the
Master Plan and other key initiatives do geniunely represent a
comprehensive community view that is also backed by robust and reliable
research,” Mr De Graeve said.
Further information:
- Gunther De Graeve 0447 655 929
- Garry Hargrave 0411 599 522
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