A 22-storey tower looks set to dominate West End after Deputy Premier Jackie Trad's decision to allow a height increase at the controversial West Village development on the site of the old Absoe furniture factory.
It was a trade-off, Ms Trad said, that would allow for more public space and access at ground level.
The $800 million West Village project, which has been the subject of sustained community opposition since it was announced, was called in by Ms Trad in September.
Ms Trad was expected to formally hand down her decision later in the week.
"What I am seeking to condition is that the site is 30 per cent publicly accessible 24 hours a day and in order to achieve that 30 per cent, we do have to make sure the site cover is not the 95 per cent approved by the Brisbane City Council," she said.
"That does mean different building heights on site.
"…They will be from eight storeys, which is less than the current 15 storeys, up to one tower, which will be 22 storeys."
Ms Trad's South Brisbane electorate had a strong Greens vote, largely centred in the West End area, which helped The Gabba councillor Jonathan Sri get elected at March's council election.
Ms Trad said the Greens vote in her electorate played no role in her decision making process.
No new outcome for residents: Nicholls
"Come the next election, I will stand and fall on my own agenda in the local area and I'm very proud of what I've been able to achieve locally," she said.
"But this is not about a local issue. This is about the city of Brisbane and achieving a great outcome for the city of Brisbane."
Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls said Ms Trad was merely "approving something that has already been approved" and said the whole process had shaken confidence in Brisbane's building industry.
"She's given false hope to residents, who thought they might be getting a different outcome," he said.
"She's created uncertainty and fear in the development industry, jobs have gone missing, and residents who might've had a better chance if they appealed this decision to the Planning and Environment Court have lost that right as well."
Mr Nicholls said the building heights were the aspect the community had been most concerned about and Ms Trad's decision had only exacerbated those concerns.
"They were worried about how high the buildings were going to be," he said.
"She's overturned a BCC preliminary approval, which allowed heights up to 20 storeys, and now it can go even higher.
"This isn't a great result for the community, this isn't a great result for the development investment industry, it's not a great result for people looking for jobs.
"Merely approving something that had already been approved months and months ago is not a great outcome.
"It is simply a political ploy by Jackie Trad to try to protect her skin in the seat of South Brisbane from the Greens."
Ms Trad said some of the key features and changes to the development as approved by the council were:
- a doubling in publicly accessible green space, including two major areas of open space, one fronting Boundary Street and one fronting Mollison Street;
- a reduction in overall site cover from the 95 to 80 per cent;
- fewer overall apartments, with a maximum of 1250;
- 30 per cent of the site designated as 24-hour publicly accessible open space, laneways and arcades;
- public space fronting Boundary Street to be delivered within six months of people moving in to West Village;
- the retention and re-use of two local heritage buildings and prohibiting construction of additional residential on top of heritage buildings
- seven buildings above the podium, ranging from eight to 22 storeys, with a transition of building heights across the site;
- pedestrian and cyclist linkages through the site;
- an internal private street providing site access and cyclist access between Mollison Street and Little Jane Street;
- the provision of community uses including a childcare centre and public art space;
- a requirement for development to achieve a five-star green rating; and
- fewer car parking spaces and the provision of a car share scheme and electric parking stations.
A political strategy by Trad, says Council chairman
Council city planning chairman Julian Simmonds said Ms Trad's announcement proved her decision to call in West Village was a political strategy.
"While it's positive, Minister Trad has finally acknowledged the importance of this project in delivering jobs and economic investment in our city, it's concerning the community will not have the opportunity to appeal her changes," he said.
"The original proposal to council included building heights up to 25 storeys and council asked the developer to reduce the height to 15 storeys to meet community expectations and comply with the local neighbourhood plan.
"The state government seemed to have no problem with the proposal when it was first put to them, only raising concerns about a bus stop.
"Now we see a proposal which has increased in height, with no opportunity for the community to appeal her decision."
Cr Simmonds said the council stood by its original West Village decision.
Comment has been sought from Cr Sri.
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