Posted by admin on 27 May 2011
This eye-catching house at 161 Dornoch Terrace has been the subject of plenty of local discussion over the past fortnight, with a proposal before Brisbane City Council for its demolition. The land-owners were required to advertise their proposal and that sparked a flurry of submissions to Council and a healthy “liking” of a Facebook page set up to show opposition to the proposal.
Submissions closed yesterday so we’ll have to wait and see what BCC decide. The neighbourhood’s got a rich history of development applications causing controversy - the land immediately behind this house was known as the Gully and saw a long and tense debate before development proceeded as what’s now the extension of Brydon Street.
Tags: Brisbane City Council, Brydon Street Highgate Hill, Demolition Control Precinct, Dornoch Terrace Brisbane
Posted in Highgate Hill | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 20 May 2011
The official Flood Inquiry progresses and we wait to hear whether there’s an easy place to lay the blame for January’s flooding. In the meantime Brisbane City Council has published their updated FloodWise Property Reports.
If you own a Brisbane property we’d recommend you take the time to check the interim Brisbane flood maps, because home buyers and even some tenants will be making use of them. And they won’t be fully accurate.
So how did they create the maps? The flood line is a joint effort from the State Govt and BCC using aerial photography taken between January 13th and 15th, then verifying these against “digital elevation models and contours”. Naturally some things are hard to spot from the air. Large trees and buildings create shadows, muddy water might be confused with gardens etc.
Apparently in the aftermath of the 1974 floods paint marks on the streets showed where water had reached and no doubt some enterprising intending home-sellers got the metho onto those pretty quickly! In this digital age the public record stands, but it might be worth everyone approaching the maps with some caution.
If you’re looking to buy and aren’t sure about floods levels why not ask a neighbour? Even now, 4 months on, the visible signs are still there with watermarked garden walls for example.
Tags: 1974 floods, Brisbane City Council, Brisbane flood mapping, Brisbane floods 2011, Brisbane home prices, Brisbane tenants, selling a house Brisbane, selling an apartment Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane's rental market, Brisbane's sales market, real estate marketing | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 24 March 2011
Council looks set to approve a 52 apartment development for Victoria Street, with the design adapted to new interim planning rules following January’s flood. Until the full findings on the flood cause are known BCC has asked developers to raise their lowest habitable areas, clearing 500mm above the offical January flood height of 6.33m AHD.
If full Council approval follows this week’s Planning Committee nod the Victoria Street project will rise 7 storeys with a 2 level basement. The basement’s entry has also been raised to 6.7m. Victoria Street was flood-effected but this site appears to be right at the edge of where the water came to.
It’ll be interesting to see public reaction to the plan given past local resistance to greater heights along the Montague Road precinct. We’d suggest the small height increase is a smart move, giving buyers greater comfort that, should the unimaginable happen and we do get another freak flood event, the apartments will be well above the 2011 levels.
Of course the biggest issue other local apartment buildings have faced has been the sensitive infrastructure they have in their basements – electrical, lifts and ventilation motors to name a few. Some that were nowhere near the river and had no surface water flooding, had basement inundation due to backed-up storm water lines. This new project’s solutions to those challenges will be its real test.
Tags: Brisbane City Council, Brisbane Development, Brisbane floods 2011, development at West End, new Brisbane apartment projects
Posted in Brisbane's sales market, West End, architecture and renovation | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 21 January 2011
Students and staff who normally use our Citycat and Cityferry services to access UQ St Lucia may have to consider alternate travel options following the flooding in Brisbane last week.
Media reports indicate that whilst nearly half of our Citycat terminals suffered only minor damage and could be fixed relatively quickly, remaining terminals had either significant damage or written off. Those terminals most affected include Sydney St, Regatta, Holman Street, Queensland University of Technology, North Quay, West End and St Lucia/University of Queensland.
It was reported recently Lord Mayor Campbell Newman believes it would take more than a year to rebuild some ferry terminals. So we will probably have disruptions to river based public transport for some time to come.
The Eleanor Schonell Bridge in Dutton Park, built for the exclusive use of pedestrians and buses, remains operational. It provides convenient transport across the Brisbane river to and from the St Lucia campus of UQ, making Dutton Park a great option for those looking to rent or buy close to the University of Queensland.
Brisbane City Council buses operate from the Chancellor’s Place bus stop near the J. D. Story Building, St Lucia and the UQ Lakes bus station via the Eleanor Schonell Bridge. Timetables are available from all Student Centres or by phoning TransLink on 131230 or from their website:
http://www.translink.com.au
Tags: Brisbane City Council, Brisbane floods 2011, Brisbane River, CityCat Brisbane, citycat terminals, Dutton Park, Eleanor Schonell Bridge Brisbane, Lord Mayor Campbell Newman, Translink, University of Queensland, UQ accomodation
Posted in Dutton Park | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 19 January 2011
Talking to reside
nts of Dutton Park’s riverfront properties I got a clear sense of relief that the flood waters did not reach their homes last week. Some residents were also there for the 1974 floods from which they were also spared. In both cases the flood waters may have come into lower areas of some backyards but in both 1974 and 2011 flood peaks did not reach the levels where homes are built.
Take a walk along the riverfront in Dutton Park, near the Eleanor Schonell Bridge and you may come across the flood marker erected by the Brisbane City Council as a reminder of the flood peak of 1974 which will give you a sense of how high the 1974 peak was in relation to homes in the area.
It seems Dutton Park might be somewhat of a rarity for an inner city, riverfront suburb being so close to the Brisbane River, yet having been spared from both 1974 and 2011 flood peaks. It also has the benefit of its proximity to entertainment hubs, univerities and good transport links.
Tags: 1974 floods, Brisbane, Brisbane City Council, Brisbane floods 2011, Brisbane River, Dutton Park, Eleanor Schonell Bridge Brisbane, flood, flood peaks
Posted in Dutton Park, trends in Brisbane property | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 11 January 2011
If you’re like us you’re having a hard time accessing info that’s accurate and useful. It’s raining hard outside and snippets from the media say the next two days may be worse than 1974’s floods. Hopefully this is an extreme prediction.
Flood mapping info: Brisbane City Council released info on what Brisbane homes MIGHT be flood effected after the big downpour of May 2009. The pages today have been near-impossible to load so if you can’t open the one for your suburb try this handy alternative flood info, a site that’s mirrored the BCC content and is much quicker to download.
The government’s road closure info is worthwhile if you’re trying to get around.
Early afternoon prediction from the Lord Mayor is that 6,500 of Brisbane’s 400,000 properties may be effected in some way.
Tags: Brisbane City Council, Brisbane flood mapping, Brisbane flooding, Brisbane floods 2011, Lord Mayor Campbell Newman
Posted in Inner Brisbane events | No Comments »
Posted by Rob Honeycombe on 27 November 2010
If you’re about to list your property for sale it’s a great idea to check the Brisbane City Council info on your area, and ensure your agent understands what townplanning issues might affect you. Agents don’t usually have the skill set to give full planning advice but a quick check of BCC records is a must.
Long gone are the days of queuing up at a Council office to get a look at cryptic documents. The interactive website is a terrific resource and simple to navigate. There is still a lot of info that’s complex and long-winded and if your property has redevelopment potential especially then we’d recommend you have a townplanner prepare a pre-marketing report. But for a basic understanding of your area’s zoning and constraints the Property Enquiry tool is a 3 or 4 click process.
Many property owners aren’t aware what can and can’t be built in their neighbourhood and the interactive mapping tool allows you to use layers of zonings etc to see how the surrounding areas are going to evolve over the next few years – or at least how Council believes they should. We think this is the sort of info a buyer is likely to want to know, and if it helps add value to your sale then your agent should be on top of it.
By the way the site’s a great place to check on that local development application for new apartments, shops etc. Floorplans, illustrations, details on street and footpath impacts and plenty more will all be included and you can quietly study the info before deciding how you feel about its impact.
In our experience most property owners too often leave townplanning to the planners. Often the concerns about new development in our suburbs are ill-informed but the info is there and easy to access for everyone. A better understanding of the issues, especially by real estate agents, would be a good place to start.
Tags: Brisbane City Council, Brisbane real estate agents, Brisbane townplanning, selling a house Brisbane, selling an apartment Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane's future & new infrastructure, real estate marketing | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 5 October 2010
City Council has swooped on a number of overcrowded homes across the city including one in Lockhart Street, Woolloongabba. This house apparently had 15 students living in it when Council’s officers inspected.
Today’s Courier Mail reports the house was one of 298 raided since July.
Council has some fairly clear rules on numbers of people in each dwelling and if there’s more than 5 unrelated residents they have boarding house requirements that apply. There are some unscrupulous landlords out there who know they can make a quick buck renting rooms to international students. Many of these students are prepared to accept lower standards to save money.
Not real nice to live next door to these places either.
Tags: Brisbane City Council, Brisbane landlords, international students Brisbane, Lockhart Street Woolloongabba
Posted in Woolloongabba | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 24 September 2010
It’s a constant dilemma in Brisbane’s inner city suburbs and it won’t get easier. We live near a whole bunch of places that people from the ‘burbs want to visit for work and play, and when they drive in they need a place to park. The CBD itself is Queensland’s largest employment base and the Mater Hospital is right up on that list too.
Add the Gabba sportsground and South Bank Parklands and it’s no surprise Woolloongabba residents often struggle to get up their streets with cars jammed against every spare piece of curb. To make this more of achallenge some of our oldest homes have limited or no off-street parking of their own.
Council is now moving to add more parking meters to local streets, limiting the length of time cars can be parked in the area. And it’s raising some concern, especially from local businesses worried their customers may stay away.
Of course a big chunk of Woolloongabba is already inside the “Brisbane Central Traffic Area”, a regulated patch that has maximum 2 hour parking. If you’re between the M1 and Annerley Road (Merton Road etc) this is you.
It’s never a popular move to introduce parking meters. Council are accused of revenue raising and they argue they’re trying to keep commuters and long-stay visitors from filling the spots.
We heard the international lateral-thinking guru Edward de Bono speak at a seminar earlier this year, and he had a great idea to replace parking meters. De Bono argues that if you want to shorten the time parkers stay in one spot you should simply legislate to require them to keep their car headlights on whenever they’re parked. No need for meters, easy to police and you’re guaranteed to keep their stay nice and short!
Council say they’re open to comment on their proposal for the next 4 weeks.
Tags: Annerley Road, Brisbane City Council, Mater Hospital South Brisbane, Merton Road Woolloongabba, South Bank Parklands
Posted in Woolloongabba | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 10 March 2010
Great news for residents in Gray Road and Morry Street, with the overnight announcement from Council that the new CityGlider bus service won’t be running past their homes.
Council’s bought the house on the corner of Hoogley and Orleigh, making room for a bus turnaround after collecting passengers from the Ferry. The other option was to remove those amazing figs trees….
CityGlider will be a high frequency inner city bus loop linking West End through the CBD to Newstead. Having it run past your home will be no fun.
So spending $1.6m on a 620m2 piece of land is probably a good political investment. Was the property worth that? According to public records the current owners paid $1.45m two years ago so it sounds about right. Certainly there’s few sales of riverfront property under $2m in areas like this any more.
Tags: Brisbane City Council, CityGlider Brisbane, Hoogley Street West End, Orleigh Street West End
Posted in West End | 1 Comment »
This eye-catching house at 161 Dornoch Terrace has been the subject of plenty of local discussion over the past fortnight, with a proposal before Brisbane City Council for its demolition. The land-owners were required to advertise their proposal and that sparked a flurry of submissions to Council and a healthy “liking” of a Facebook page set up to show opposition to the proposal.
