408-422 Brinsmead Road Brinsmead QLD 4870

As a family (consisting of mum, dad & child) we will be completely devastated by the lose of this area to housing. The volume of people that ride, walk and exercise their dogs on this hillside cannot and shouldn't be under estimated or devalued. This precious little pocket of land is accessible to people after work - where other areas are often inaccessible after hours with traffic congestion from commutes traveling home from work. With such limited time before sunset this area offers families a recreational area - thus benefitting with a healthier society. Please don't develop this land.

Cairns needs more recreational areas that are free for the public to use.
This area of brinsmead has had an unofficial mountain bike trail on it that has been there for over 20 years, and has been enjoyed by many generations. It is important that we preserve recreational areas like this for the local community. Loosing this space would be a tragedy for the local brinsmead community.

I cannot express enough how the loss of this land to development would absolutely devastate me, my family and friends. The continual upkeep and maintenance of the tracks are a testament to the dedication and love that the local community has for this area. People commit their time and their own tools to ensure the tracks are well maintained and safe for all those that use them. Some of us wouldn’t be able to ride our bikes nearly as much if it wasn’t for this track due to having young families, time constraints, traffic issues and lack of daylight hours to travel to other tracks. Friendships have been formed on this land starting with a mutual respect for the bush and a love for being able to get outdoors when so close to home. Please, please don’t take this from us.

A golden opportunity exists here to develop trails and have the lots sold as this being an attractive feature. This is a high use MTB area. The gullies are so steep, is this really prime real estate? Perhaps it could be replanned so the trails and conservation zones remain.

The long standing 'Palmers mountain bike tracks' are a great asset to the Cairns area. It truly would be a shame to loose such a wonderful recreation area so close to many homes. These tracks provide essential outdoor activity to a wide range of the the Cairns Population. I live in Woree and ride Palmers regularly, as it's a short trip from home, where Smithfield is at least 30 minutes travel. With increased pressure on our healthcare systems providing recreational areas that are easily accessed becomes paramount. In addition having such facilities gives youth of the area constructive activities. Please help preserve these vital trails.

As a long term local resident of Brinsmead it is with utter dismay that I view this planning application. Losing a valuable recreational area that so many people use and maintain would be devastating to the local community. There is also the question of being able to manage the increased traffic flow that would result from this development. That road is very heavily congested already at certain times of the day with the school traffic and speed restrictions that are in place for 4 hours a day.
Please consider these things when making your decision.

This development application does not appear to be well recieved at all. I think if council cared what their rate payers and residents actually thought, they would take into account the strong opposition clearly explained in all of the comments written here. Better still, I would like to challenge council and approving authorities to find any Brinsmead/Freshwater residents that want something like this to go ahead. Its going to be a NO from me.

I live almost opposite this area. Some mornings I have difficulty driving out my own driveway. I would not like to have Brinsmead Road have more traffic every morning and afternoon because of extra people living in the area. Also I often walk up the track here and there are many others that ride mountain bikes in this area. Green areas like this one are valuable to suburbs and should not be turned into housing.

We moved to Brinsmead two years ago, but part of the reason we moved to this suburb was the fact that it was so peaceful and green. Previously having lived in Bentley Park, we have seen how a suburb changes when more and more smaller housing lots are built. I have trouble getting out of the end of Loridan Drive in the mornings to do school drop offs already, having more housing around the corner across from the college would cause more traffic on an already busy section of road and possibly endanger children's lives as people get frustrated with the congestion. I have also enjoyed exercising by walking up Palmer's hill to the reservoir at the top, and have several friends who live in Brinsmead who make use of the bike tracks on a regular basis. 59 residential lots seems excessive and unsustainable. I understand that Cairns is growing in population and living in a suburb like Brinsmead is highly desirable, given its proximity to the city and amenities while also retaining a quiet suburban feel. Cramming more houses into a small space is not going to be beneficial to the suburb in the long term. Please reconsider this development proposal.

How can this many blocks be allowed in such a compacted area? Council can't even deliver a proper bike lane on this road, how will you accommodate turning lanes for the location and extra traffic? This is already a very busy and dangerous area during school times and soccer season after school. You are further endangering the children that must cross this road and everyone that cycles and walks/runs along it.
Cairns needs more recreational areas that are free for the public to use.
This unofficial mountain bike trail is maintained by enthusiastic riders. This encourages fitness and being in the outdoors. This track has given our youths plenty of opportunities close by to engage in physical activity, mateship and community - a huge reason Brinsmead has much lower crime rates to other suburbs. Loosing this space would be a tragedy for the local brinsmead community. This is such a nice area. I am not objecting to the owner wanting to develop it, but the number and size of the blocks needs to be addressed.
I also request council buy back the side that Palmer's is on so that we can keep this local fitness area open. You did it for Earl Hill to stop development, now you can do it for Brinsmead.

I write to you in regards the recent public notification of the proposed development at 408-422 Brinsmead Road.

The proposed development will result in the tragic loss of probably the most long standing, iconic and well renowned inner city recreational/mountain bike/walking trail networks that Cairns City has , the mountain bike community and community as a whole is in great need of accessible trails to continue the healthy, active sport they have come to love doing with friends and family, these types of closely accessible trails are the building blocks of a more active and healthy community and also the breeding ground for our future national and world champions!! These Brinsmead trails have been in existence for around the same time as the recognised Kuranda downhill and development at this tenure should be seriously considered. The area is extremely unique in its location, terrain and accessibility to everyone who uses it.

I seriously hope the council does it’s due diligence in researching exactly how much the inner city trails like these are used and where they are located before approving any developments, if areas of trails are developed, there will be a need to allocate land and establish permanent trails to replace the ones lost.

The users I have spoken to are most certainly not against the land being developed, it is just requested that careful consideration of the impact of developing the hill slope areas, both used as recreational areas by an astonishing amount of the community, and the environmental impact and wildlife habitat that will be lost. The area serves as a critical wildlife thoroughfare to Mt Whitfield by helping create an almost direct connection to Freshwater creek, the development will almost halve this access.

The mountain biking community is exploding and the more trails and skills parks available the better for the whole community at large.

Some suggestions have been made to incorporate the existing trails with a development on this tenure which the mountain bike community is more than happy to help coordinate and provide feedback to any proposed development.

Regards

Damien Hyde 0417185615

How will Council accommodate turning lanes for the location and extra traffic? This is already a very busy and dangerous area during school times and soccer season after school. You are further endangering the children that must cross this road and everyone that cycles and walks/runs along it.
Cairns needs more recreational areas that are free for the public to use. This track has given our youths plenty of opportunities close by to engage in physical activity, mateship and community - a huge reason Brinsmead has much lower crime rates to other suburbs. Loosing this space would be a tragedy for the local brinsmead community. This is such a nice area.
I also request council buy back the side that Palmer's is on so that we can keep this local fitness area open. You did it for Earl Hill to stop dunevelopment, now you can do it for Brinsmead.

Having lived all my life in the Freshwater/Brinsmead area I’ll be sad if we lose this area to development.

I have some concerns and suggestions about the increased traffic (vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian) along Brinsmead Road, in both directions.

In the direction of the Freshwater roundabout there is no footpath. I nervously ride my bike along the road here to go to Freshwater, wishing for a safe off-road path. It is quite a long detour to go via the underpass at Glenoma Park and the Redlynch underpass. I’m guessing this development will be in the Freshwater State School catchment and there will be more children commuting to Freshwater, either walking or riding along the road, and that concerns me. Is there any sort of council land or easement at the top of the hill that could join the development to, for example, Maree Street at Freshwater that could be used as a foot/bikepath?

Another comment on this section of road, most users will be aware of the amount of squashed wildlife, mostly happening at night. I think wildlife gets funnelled into a corridor coming off the mountain and crosses the road towards the creek. With increased traffic this will get worse. Could council liaise with wildlife experts to see if, for example, increased street lighting might help?

I was surprised to see the one access road to the development will be almost at the opposite end to where vehicles pull in at the moment. This puts it very close to the school crossing and I worry impatient drivers pulling left out of the development will be accelerating the short distance towards the crossing.

Will there be room for turning lanes in both directions into the new development? I think the increased traffic and that it is directly opposite a school justifies this for safety.

Finally, driving along Loridan Drive and trying to turn either direction onto Brinsmead Road on a school morning with increased traffic will be harder than it already is. One thing that might help is an official turning lane for traffic wanting to turn left onto Brinsmead Road. It already happens unofficially (just like it did for so long at the other end of Loridan Dr before the turning lane was put in). It doesn’t need to be long and I think there is enough room for it, maybe just change the linemarking?