Update on the Greendale Way Shopping Centre site

As many residents have pointed out, there has been some clearing of vegetation throughout the first week of June at the site on the corner of Greendale Way and Scrub Road in Carindale.

This land is part of the proposed Greendale Village Shopping Centre.

My office was made aware of these actions and immediately contacted Council’s Rapid Response team who were able to investigate the situation promptly.

I can advise that all of the cleared vegetation was on private property and is not protected, meaning that the works undertaken were compliant.

To confirm this, Council’s Environmental Management team will be reassessing the case further to ensure that all works and operations conducted were legal.

Clearing of vegetation on the proposed site of the Greendale Way shopping centre.

This development site has had a long, long history.

When blocks of land first went up for grabs in Carindale Heights in the 90’s, one of the unique selling propositions was that a shopping centre was going to be constructed on the vacant land.

The site developers lodged a development application in 2006 for the Greendale Village Shopping Centre to be built. The application was approved by the Planning and Environment Court in 2008 with works expected to be started over the next couple of years.

The proposal included five integrated buildings that would from the main shopping complex rounding out at a maximum height of 2 storeys.

The 2018 plans for the shopping centre can be found below.

The plan for the proposed shopping centre from 2018.

Thirteen years later and the only progress that has been made is the clearing of vegetation and the regretful removal of a protected and dearly loved Moreton Bay Fig Tree back in February 2008.

The development approval deadline for this site, after many extensions, expired just last month and Council is being told by the developers that it is our fault that a further extension was not approved in time!

The developers of the site needed to have completed significant construction works in order for the development approval to be extended again, and it seems as though this is their answer to that.

The site of the old sales and information centre.

Given that the application is now 13 years old, Council very reasonably asked the developers to conduct further community consultation before an extension to their approval would be granted.

In response, they promptly lodged an appeal in the Planning & Environment Court and last week cut down all the trees.

This is a very poor re-introduction to the local community, and I only hope that local residents will not suffer the consequences for what is an obvious lack of planning and action by the owners of this development site.

If you would like to receive updates regarding this development application, please sign up for my e-news here.