Residents fire up over subdivision on CBD block
A POTENTIAL subdivision of a small lot in the Toowoomba CBD has caused outrage among residents, who have called on the council to put a stop to it.
Plans were submitted last month by applicant Jayhindra Laxman Rama to cut 5 Kirk St, Toowoomba City, into two blocks of about 310-340sq m.
The property is one of several squeezed between two narrow lanes running from Hume to Neil St.
The application, courtesy of Precinct Urban Planning’s Kerri Ryder, includes letters from Ergon Energy, NBN Co and SB Plumbing confirming the proposal complied with all regulations.
But residents on PlanningA- lerts.org.au said the subdivision would further congest an already tight and narrow part of the CBD.
“How on earth can this block be made smaller?” one resident, called Belinda, wrote.
“These cottages in Kirk and Bracker Sts are already built out to the fence line and the rain gutters just about hold hands. Seriously this is going way too far.”
Other residents called on the Toowoomba Regional Council to crack down on smaller blocks, saying it was ruining the appeal of the Garden City.
“To maintain the aesthetic of Toowoomba these sub-divisions need to be pared right back,” Jr0147 added.
“Some of the decisions getting through planning are ridiculous, and it will eventually alter the appeal of living in Toowoomba which is supposed to be a major country town, not an inner city Mecca that many people have tried to move away from by coming here.”
The application is still being considered by the council’s officers.
This is not the first time Toowoomba residents have rallied against subdivisions.
The council approved a plan to split a block in Braemar St, South Toowoomba, despite a backlash from neighbours.