Big unit project for Little St planned

TOWNSVILLE City Council looks set to approve a major unit development in Belgian Gardens but will refine the conditions to try to mitigate issues raised by nearby residents.

The project is proposed for vacant land in Little St and adjoins an existing 12- unit project.

Developers backed by builder Liveconstructions have lodged a material change of use application for a 30- unit development across three buildings up to six storeys.

The application was considered by the council’s planning committee yesterday, when the committee was told an existing approval for a larger development of up to 44 units on the site obtained about 10 years ago remained valid.

Nearby residents and their representatives addressed the committee to raise their concerns.

One resident said they believed the development was too large, that developers had underestimated the traffic impact and that the smell from a refuse collection point near the roadway would waft back into their unit.

The representative of another, town planner Stephen Motti, said the outcome of the development from the current conditions was uncertain.

He also raised concerns about the scope and size of the development. Mr Motti said many people accessed a walkway in Little St and the development would change the character of the area.

A spokesman for the applicant said they acknowledged the issues raised, that they were not new and that measures to deal with them formed part of their application.

The development was a good land use outcome for a strategic site, he said.

Cr Verena Coombe asked that uncertainties in two of the conditions be “ironed out” with neighbours before the application returned for a decision of the council at its ordinary meeting later this month.