Unbelievable - QLD Govt puts stop work order on Highgate Hill House Demo

Quack.

 

Exactly. Should've called the famous Deen Brothers in pronto to deal with this asbestos ridden shocker.
(Their motto : "All we leave is the memories").

Governments can never be trusted not to change the goalposts, so why give them the chance.

 

It seems crazy, 2 minutes on street view shows that the direct neighbours on Colton st are a 3 story unit block, with a 5 story block next door. If anything its the old house not keeping with the surrounds. Its not one of the pretty queenslanders on the other side of the street we're talking about.

As for history? Some guy used to live in it. So what - sounds similar to most houses.

 

I was speaking to people in the area who have lived there a long time and apparently the house on the corner burnt down all bar one wing in the 60's. This would explain why it is 90% clad in asbestos and architecturally of that era. Not sure how this represents the heritage of pre 1911

 

It is quite perturbing but there are plenty of vocal protesters in the West End pocket and have been for many years. I as involved with a client's application for a 3 story townhouse style development about 15 years ago. An action group was co ordinated to block the development- the "Save the Gully" group with no vested interest other than an objection to someone with enough money in to buy in the area wanting to develop his back yard.
Maybe the Council should buy it back off the developer- including acquisition costs, loss of profit on the development, holding costs etc etc etc. What are the chances of that he asked knowingly.

 

West End is one of the worst areas in Brisbane for the NIMBY crowd. Lucky they weren't there a hundred years ago or West End would still have farms and market gardens on it.

 

Because of the demographic, West End has a large professional population, who are smart enough and savvy enough to mount quick and effective campaigns.

Not sure that makes them the "worst" area, but certainly one of the best organised!
Marg

 

If they want to control development -

1. Buy the land; or
2. Lobby the Council to change the zoning and local plans. If the blocks are zoned for something they should leave them alone.

To me it is the same as buying beside a railway line and then whinging about it. The area is zoned for development as it should be.

 

But many lived there long before the development zoning changes.
Marg

 

And? The needs for the city as a whole outweigh the wants of an often small but vocal % of a particular part of town

 

Absolutely!

But as we live in a democracy, anyone still has the right to protest or to object.
Marg

 

I knew (lost touch now) one of the tenants who lived in the Jones st place back in the early naughties. She was in the protest crowd. From memory, it was 2 one bed and 1 two bed units. Absolute dump. But it was dirt cheap rent and I don't think it ever went up for sitting tenants. The units were occupied by west end lesbians and when a tenant moved the other tenants found and selected the new tenant. So there was a certain degree of communal living and an expectation of a place for life, or at least a long time.

@RPI The place had a massive old tree in the front yard. That from news articles had been removed. That could have been what alerted residents to something going on?

 

I was slightly wrong, it was four units.

The article has an interior pic. It's behind a paywall but if you google 'highgate hill house' and select the news tab you should be able to see it. The pic makes it look like a palace compared to what it actually is.

Damn that asbestos it just won't burn!

 

Dropped by this place yesterday for a stickybeak. Complete stop work-totally deserted.
4 houses across the road were all proudly flying Greens and Labor candidate posters for upcoming local election. What are the chances?