2 weeks ago
3
Plans for a towering new apartment complex have prompted a strong backlash from some parents at a nearby school, who believe construction would overwhelm already struggling infrastructure and put kids at risk.
The development proposal for 33 Vulture Street is 16 storeys tall, comprises about 132 units, and includes two floors of retail space and a rooftop pool.
It would be built directly across the road from the entrance of West End State School, and in an area where construction is officially capped at eight storeys.
Seleneah More and Vanessa Bertagnole outside West End State School, opposite the 33 Vulture Street site. Credit: William Davis
“Overcrowding is a big concern,” Vanessa Bertagnole, who heads the Parents and Citizens organisation, told this masthead from the site earlier this week.
“The school in 2015 used to be 700 kids. Now we’re … more than double, at close to 1500.
“It’s not a conducive learning environment and can lead to behaviour problems. The kids lose essential resources, facilities and access to programs when overcrowding starts.”
A digital render of the planned 33 Vulture Street apartment tower in West End. Credit: Stockwell.
Parents protested outside the school on Friday last week, also raising concerns about the potential impact on traffic increases, overcrowding, safety and privacy of students.
“If that’s going to go on for years, we’re concerned about the vibration, the dust,” Bertagnole added.
“[Residents] would be looking directly into the playground and the swimming pool where all of our kids do PE … that makes a lot of parents uncomfortable.”
Seleneah More, president of the West End Community Association, said the whole suburb was already struggling to keep up with a population boom.
“The infrastructure we need, they just haven’t put in place to deal with that growth,” she said.
“We’re at a tipping point because ... there’s nowhere else across the city that has had 10,000 dwellings in 15 years and a trebling of the population.”
More and Bertagnole said they were not NIMBYs, and supported development, but believed health, education and transport infrastructure needed to catch up.
The building currently on the site was built in 1939, and was formerly a Queensland Can Company factory.
The existing buildings at 33 Vulture Street in West End, Brisbane. Credit: William Davis
The area is zoned for a limit of eight stories in the South Brisbane Riverside Neighbourhood Plan. Developer Stockwell said it was in the best interest of the community to build higher, which could be permitted.
This masthead contacted Stockwell for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Public submissions closed this week. Responses were largely opposed to construction, but some said they believe increased housing supply would be beneficial amid a housing crisis.
“The building looks nice, housing is greatly needed in this area and meets community expectations for density in this area,” one submission said.
“I do think it needs more trees and deep planting as part of the plan.”
The proposal will be assessed by independent planning officers at Brisbane City Council, considering the City Plan and State Government Planning Act.
“All submissions will be considered as part of this assessment process,” a spokesperson for the Schrinner council said in a statement.
Most Viewed in National
Loading
