AN impending population explosion in a once-sleepy Brisbane suburb caused a surge in locals selling up. But as works begin, some residents are embracing the big changes.
Brisbane City Council gave the green light for stage two of the controversial Cedar Woods development in Upper Kedron in September last year.
Developers had originally applied for 1350 residential lots but council scaled that back to 980, leaving 40 per cent of the site saved for open space.
When the plan was first flagged with council in 2014 it received almost 1000 objections, mostly relating to environmental impacts and density concerns.
Innov8 Property principal Michael Spillane said long-term Upper Kedron residents had always been cautious about the Cedar Grove development, with many people threatened about the further urbanisation of their neighbourhood.
He said in the year following the initial announcement of the project there had been an increase in local sales.
“I have appraised a few homes out there and some have spoken about the fear of what’s going to happen,” he told The Courier-Mail.
“There are a few residents that were worried about what was going to happen and I think a few got out before it started.
“You have to think too that a development likes that over two or three years, there are trucks and bulldozers going in and out, there’s noise, there’s dust and that’s constant.”
The bulldozers have been working over the summer and the development is starting to take shape. Roads have been upgraded and multiple sales offices have been erected to lure new residents into the suburb.
Unfazed by the changes is business owner Rebekah Trevor.
Trevor runs the family-owned The Olive Branch Nursery, which sits on the cusp of the development.
Over the nursery’s 35-year history, the Cedar Wood development is by far the biggest transformation in the area and comes a decade after the last dairy in Upper Kedron closed.
“I’ve noticed more and more that there are a lot of newer families and couples starting out living here,” Ms Trevor said.
“It’s hard to imagine what it’s going to be like and I know that they have put in substantial planning for the area and there are plans for a highway to go past us.
“When we moved in there was a vineyard and dairy and there were no houses near us, it was a one lane road.
“The dairy is gone and we did lose a lot of our gardens out the front but that didn’t worry us, it’s going to be exciting to see what happens.”
Angeline Moes, who runs a home-based business, Moes Costume Hire, said Upper Kedron was ideal for bringing up children although the suburb’s relaxed feel is slowly but surely changing.
Having lived there for the past six years she said there has been a notable increase in traffic and the development, while inevitable, was not necessarily for the better.
“There is definitely more traffic and they have tried to counteract it with lights and we will see the impact when people starting living on the new estate,” she said.
While a number of roads have been widened, Mr Spillane said the main access point through to inner-city Brisbane would continue to be via Ferny Grove.
“Originally the council wanted to push the traffic out through Waterworks Rd (at The Gap) and all the Ashgrovians didn’t like that, so the proposal is to push it out through Ferny Grove,” he said.
“That’s a lot of extra cars and … there is only one way to go and that’s Samford Rd and it has a couple of bottlenecks especially where it crosses Wardell St, Enoggera.”
Upgrades to nearby Ferny Grove rail station in recent years was helping to ease the traffic problems somewhat, he said.
It takes about 30 minutes to travel by train to Central Station, relatively quicker than travelling by car in peak hour.
Mr Spillane said travelling in from the end of the line also has its advantages.
“You can get a seat on the train at that point because you’re at the end of the line and some trains do run express to the city,” he said.
“The advantage (of living in Upper Kedron) is it a very leafy area now and you don’t feel like you’re 12 km from the CBD, you actually feel like you are further out.”
Originally Published: http://www.couriermail.com.au