Black Friday for Lota Community

​Dear Friends, neighbours and supporters
 
The Planning and Environment Court has ordered that Village Retirement Group’s appeal be allowed to proceed.
 
This means that Anglicare and Village Retirement Group’s 100-unit retirement village at Lota House will go ahead.
 
The Brisbane City Council has accepted a compromise deal negotiated with Village Retirement Group. The court has ruled that the changes proposed by the company are “minor”.
 
See the court’s file summary for more information.
 
BAG to wind up
 
This is a sad day for our community which has fought since June 2018 to try to stop this inappropriate high-rise development from going ahead.
 
As of today, the Bayside Action Group will be disbanded and our web site will be closed.
 
Thank you for your support – attending our rallies, writing letters, signing petitions, making submissions. Your passion and commitment have been outstanding.
 
We have won some minor concessions but it’s been a hard slog. The council’s aged care planning regulations favour the interests of developers not the community and the State Government did not refuse the Lota House development on heritage grounds.
 
As another residents group also confronted by an inappropriate high-rise retirement village observed “I thought I just had to pay my rates but I’ve actually got to pay attention”
 
Email or write to: 
 
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner
Minister for State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning Cameron Dick
Minister for the Environment Leeanne Enoch

• Ask the council to change the Planning Act for developments like this from Code Assessable (meaning no consultation) to Impact Assessable (allowing community consultation)
• Insist the state government uphold Heritage values
• Insist the council upholds its own Vegetation Protection Orders
• Monitor the building works, if you see something that looks odd - contact our Local Councillor Peter Cumming on 3403 2180 or out of hours 3403 8888   
• Insist on knowing what council is going to do to force the developers to ameliorate the effects of the dust and noise on residents both within Lota House precinct and surrounding streets.

​Remember:
Our elected officials work for us on our behalf - we have the right to be outraged and to tell them when we are.
 
Finally keep an eye out for your neighbours (especially elderly neighbours) during construction of this entirely inappropriate development.