Fernleigh decision nears
Developer hopes for green light
ONE of the Toowoomba region’s biggest proposed masterplanned housing estates could be approved before the end of the year.
The 1500-lot Fernleigh housing estate, which could double the size of the growing community of Westbrook, is waiting on a green light from the Toowoomba Regional Council after it passed through the State Government referral agency smoothly.
Development manager Geoff Kath also revealed further details about the massive development, which he said had been meticulously planned to offer a major town centre, plenty of green spaces and “local activity nodes” to encourage walking over driving.
“The blocks themselves are still conceptual, it just gives you a general idea, but those concepts set in stone are the green corridor, the north-south and east-west road linkages and the town centre,” he said.
“They’re all consistent with the outcomes the council found in its own studies.”
Mr Kath said the town centre was designed to cater for what residents in Westbrook had been demanding for years, including a new swimming pool, permanent library, performing arts centre and other community spaces.
“Residents of Westbrook feel very forgotten and have long lamented the absence of key facilities and services,” he said.
“A significant amount of that will actually go into the town centre.
“We’re talking about a performing arts centre, a library, aquatics centre, service centre for the council as well.
“We’ve had discussions with council to the effect that we know that 10 hectares of development won’t start for 15-20 years, so we have to preserve and set aside that land to create a fully structured and integrated site.”
Precinct Urban Planning’s Andrew Bullen praised the State Assessment and Referral Agency for its “pragmatic” support of a project that was originally proposed outside the Queensland Government’s urban footprint plan.