The upgrades to the Kenmore Roundabout are moving one step closer to construction as public consultations begin for one of the worst traffic bottlenecks in Brisbane.
On Monday, 8 March 2021, an interactive consultation page from the Federal Government will open online for the community to provide their inputs on the improvements needed for the Kenmore Roundabout.
Consequently, the government will hold in-person sessions at these dates and times below for residents and businesses interested in the project to talk with the planning team:
WHEN
WHERE
Saturday 13 March 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Kenmore Village shopping centre
Saturday 20 March 6:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Brookfield Market community display
Thursday 25 March 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Kenmore Village shopping centre
Tuesday 30 March 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Kenmore Village shopping centre
The community may also send emails to metropolitanregion@tmr.qld.gov.au or phone 3066 4338 during business hours for their enquiries, ideas and suggestions.
Both Federal and State Governments have committed $12.5 each for the project meant to “improve road traffic flow, the reliability of public transport and bike and pedestrian access, a big win for local commuters right across these transport modes,” according to Federal Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP.
“The Kenmore roundabout is a high-traffic roundabout at key connection point used by western suburb residents heading to Brookfield or out to Pullenvale and beyond,” Queensland Minister for Transport and Main Roads, the Hon Mark Bailey MP said.
“It’s also a key access point to Kenmore Village and the local retail precinct in that area, as well as Kenmore State School nearby. Installing traffic lights will better control traffic flow through the intersection, and we’re also providing new on-road bike lanes and dedicated pedestrian crossing facilities,” he added.
Photo Credit: Australian Government
Kenmore Roundabout Key features
Upgrading the roundabout by signalising the intersection.
New on-road cycle lanes
Installing safer facilities for people walking and riding with shared pathways and signalised crossings
24 different suburbs have reported incredible levels of noise caused by aircraft following the opening of Brisbane Airport’s second runway in July, 2020. In Brookfield, a community meeting has been called to discuss the issue.
Over the past several weeks beginning in late 2020, the Brisbane Flight Path Community Alliance (BFPCA), a group that brings communities negatively affected by Brisbane Airport’s flight paths, collected a total of 2000 responses from the Brisbane public over Christmas complaining about the noise, which exceeded the number of responses about environmental concerns brought about by the runway.
With the runway built over residential areas, it was only natural for thousands of angry locals to complain. The new runway has led to an uneven distribution of flight paths, with 75% of night operations taking place over the bay, much to the chagrin of suburbs in Southeast Brisbane.
Summer flight paths of the new runway of Brisbane. Left depicts morning flight paths in northerly winds. Right depicts overnight flight paths in calm weather. The marker represents Brookfield. Photo credit: BNF Flight Path Tool
According to the BFPCA, the population density of the 24 suburbs affected have increased by 40% in the past 15 years. Thousands of families are having difficulty sleeping, concentrating or relaxing, and with new flight patterns brought about by the second runway, property values are decreasing due to the noise.
An investigation staged by the Aircraft Noise Ombudsman is currently underway, and the BFPCA is set to submit a major report as part of the investigation in the next few weeks to help put an end to noise pollution brought about by aircraft. To address these issues, the BFPCA has organised numerous public meetings, with one scheduled for Brookfield on the 11th of March, 2021.
The March 11 community meeting hosted by the BFPCA will be held at the Upper Brookfield Community Hall at 6:30PM. Additional details can be found on their Facebook event page.
The proposed creation of a Wessel Petroleum service station in Brookfield could have potentially disastrous consequences for the platypus population in Moggill Creek.
Despite the concerns raised by locals, Wessel Petroleum explained that the service station in the works will actually be beneficial for the site as it plans to raise the ecological value of the surrounding areas, revegetating the nearby creeks. People did not respond well.
Many locals objected to the plan, believing that run-off chemicals produced by the station would flow into the creek and cause harm to the platypuses that call it home. In order to prevent that, Storm Water Consulting (SWC) issued a report that suggests the damage could be mitigated with on-site wastewater treatment, sediment fences, and chemicals could be guided to small holding ponds to avoid disturbing the wildlife in Moggill Creek.
The reception of Wessel Petroleum’s station-to-be has not been positive, with many residents doubting the ecological measures proposed by SWC. The presence of other petroleum stations within the surrounding area, such as the ones in Kenmore, Bellbowie, Karana Downs, and many other suburbs also dissuaded locals as there was no need for more stations — especially not one that could bring harm to the neighbouring platypuses.
Platypus numbers have already been dwindled in recent years as uninhabitable waterways have forced them to disperse, and travelling on land is when they are at their most vulnerable to predators.
Despite the economic downturn brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, Brisbane’s highly desired areas for buying acreages are reportedly experiencing an upswing.
Suburbs like Brookfield and Pullenvale are attracting plenty of interest from people who are considering a move to a semi-rural property where they can have plenty of outdoor space to relish in the beauty of nature and its natural benefits.
Brookfield and Pullenvale, both ideal areas for acreage living, are experiencing a Renaissance of sorts. In both suburbs, eager buyers are looking at properties that can range anywhere from one to 20 acres.
Those exploring to get back to basics, to slow down their pace, and to figure out how to build a sustainable lifestyle — amid the hoarding and depletion of supplies as highlighted in this pandemic — are finding that these suburbs southwest of the city remain seemingly untouched by modern developments.
Yet Brookfield and Pullenvale are still close to the hub in Brisbane CBD that it’s fine to miss most of what’s happening there. It’s also easy to plan a quick trip to the city when needed.
This 1.12ha property on McMullen Road, Brookfield has its own swimming pool, tennis court, rainwater storage tank and solar hot water. The space is great for riding horses or bikes in the paddocks, with a 360-degree view of mountains and valleys.
Photo Credit: Rachael Spinks/Spinks & Co Residential/Domain
In Kamala Drive, Pullenvale sits a 4ha house that looks like a plantation mansion. Impressive for private and family entertainment, this home has a gourmet kitchen and casual kitchen, as well as an alfresco area with an in-ground pool and spa.
Photo Credit: Paris Arthur/Place Graceville/Domain
Observers note that this trend has been building up for some time. The isolation during the coronavirus lockdown has had people thinking that living close to a densely-populated community does have its drawbacks and risks, as it’s these places where outbreaks usually start.
People are starting to realise that there are other things you can do in your own house than sit on the couch or be stuck indoors. The idea of having a bigger backyard has never been more appealing than today.
At least three distinct markets find the allure of living in Brookfield and Pullenvale — the knockdown market, the city-dwellers and people with money to invest in a bigger property, according to Domain.
Glen Olive House. St John’s House of Rest. St Christopher’s Lodge. Friary Pottery and Friary Fayres. Brookfield Centre for Christian Spirituality. Over the years, the Old Friary Complex has gone through multiple incarnations and metamorphosed into what it is now.
The Old Friary Complex located at 139 Brookfield Road in Kenmore Hills was once a special centre for the Anglican friars in Brisbane. Developed as a self-sufficient farm and social facility, the site was formally known as the Centre for Christian Spirituality.
From 1965 to 1987, the Old Friary was frequented by the locals and was referred to as “the Friary” as it was bustling with activities and forging fellowship, especially among the young members of the community. Aside from tending to the nursery and learning pottery, the friars and their friends in the community also carried out social work around Brisbane.
But the history of the Old Friary began decades before this. The house owned and designed by one of Brisbane’s most notable architects, Richard Gailey, was actually built in the 1890s. It was part of a structure known as the Glen Olive House in Toowong.
Mr Gailey from Donegal settled in Brisbane in 1864 and achieved to establish his practice within a year. Known for designing the Fernberg (Governor’s residence), Brisbane Girls Grammar School, Baptist Tabernacle, the Regatta hotel and the Orient hotel, Mr Gailey built Glen Olive as a landmark site with a ballroom, an atrium, and several rooms with extensive verandahs.
Photo Credit: State Library of Queensland
In 1901, Dr E. S. Jackson purchased Glen Olive and decided to sell the property in sections. William Melbourne Watts, then the Queensland’s Land Commissioner, bought a section of the house, which was to be erected at his 47 acres lot on top of a hill in the “beautiful Brookfield district.” Watts bought this land in Kenmore Hills from Charles Patterson, a timber merchant.
By 1925, Mr Watts transferred the ownership to his son, William Phillips Watts, who then sold 24.5 acres of land in 1933 to the Brisbane Franciscan Communities led by Reverend Robert Bates of the Franciscan order of the Church of England. At that time, the Old Friary was known as St John’s House of Rest for aged men.
From St John’s House of Rest to St Christopher’s Lodge
With several staff rooms and a large dining room, the complex could accommodate 30 men who helped cultivate the vast land. But as a hilltop site, this self-sustaining home for the aged was found to be too remote to cater to the needs of its aging occupants. When St John’s Home of Rest relocated to Toowong in 1934, the Brookfield site became a boys’ home and was renamed to St Christopher’s Lodge.
The refuge, now managed by the Franciscan order’s Sisters of St Clare, taught the boys to farm and their produce was regularly sold at the Brookfield Show. The young men were also guided and molded with cultural, moral and religious convictions until they were old enough to leave the boys home and start their new life as adults. Reverend Bates also secured the boys’ education at universities around Brisbane.
However, St Christopher’s Lodge ceased to operate when Reverend Bates died in 1955. Part of the hilltop land was also sold to the Presbyterian Church, which established the Blue Care Aged Care Facility and Iona Nursing Centre in Brisbane.
What remained of St Christopher’s Lodge became a base for the friars for its church missions until the property was transferred to the Corporation of the Synod of the Church of England Diocese. In 1966, the site persisted as a self-sufficient farm and handcraft manufacturers as operated by Anglican Society of St Francis. The structures were also rehabilitated whilst Henry Clark & Sons built a new chapel designed by Merrin and Cranston Architects.
Photo Credit: The Old Friary/Facebook
‘Friary Pottery’ and ‘Friary Fayres’
By the 1970s, the friary was used as a temporary housing facility for volunteers. It attracted many guitar-playing hippies who enjoyed tending to the farm, making preserves and moulding pottery. Thus, the brands Friary Pottery and Friary Fayres were born and its products were sold at various Brisbane markets and events.
Some of these products also found its way onto the shelves of the department store David Jones. The items created for Friary Pottery and Friary Fayres were also mandatory gifts to VIPs who visited Brisbane, including Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.
Brookfield Centre for Christian Spirituality
By the 1990s, more extensive renovation and upgrades were done to the site to establish the Brookfield Centre for Christian Spirituality. It became a public place for locals to enjoy some quiet time if there were no booked events taking place. Additional contemplation areas were built and planted with trees with the help of volunteers, whilst a coffee shop with a gift store operated in the area from 1995 to 2004.
In 1998, part of the site became a private residential housing estate known as the Friary Fields whilst the centre continued to be a place of retreat and a venue for community activities. The Brookfield Centre for Christian Spirituality was cited as a local heritage place in 2017.
In 2018, the Anglicans expressed interest to sell or lease the Old Friary despite some opposition from the locals. A year later, the Uniting Church’s Blue Care bought the property under the agreement that much of it will still be used as a community area.
The annual Brookfield Show is back! Experience and celebrate the community spirit by participating in the activities to be held at the Brookfield Showground, located 5.3 kilometres from Kenmore, from Friday, the 17th of May 2019 to Sunday, the 19th.
The event, hosted by the non-profit Brookfield Show Society Inc., will actually mark its opening with the announcement of the winners of the Art, Children’s Art and Crafts, Photography, Sculpture, and Woodwork contest on Thursday night. This competition was participated in early April by students from Brookfield State School.
Sculpture, and Woodwork contest on Thursday night. This competition was participated in early April by students from Brookfield State School.
Then the next morning at 9:00, the pavilion will open its doors to the actual activities of the Brookfield Show with the Equestrian Events. There will be more fanfare in the afternoon, such as:
Rodeo
Sideshow entertainment
Live Music (at the Member’s Bar)
The Brookfield Show will also have a session for riders with disabilities, which will be introduced for the first time at this year’s event.
Saturday and Sunday’s activities, on the other hand, will feature more entertainment and exhibits at the pavilion. Sections will be divided into the different show as well as arts and crafts competitions.
There will also be a dog show at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday.
To know which exhibits you can visit, check out this map from the organizers.
The REIQ recently reported the latest housing market statistics which showed Brookfield median house price to be among the highest in Brisbane at $1,670,000, a 15.2% increase over the last 12 months and 17.8% over the last 5 years. In the 2nd quarter of 2018, there were 3 homes sold in the suburb.
Meanwhile, Kenmore posted a 4% annual increase in median house price at $687,500. The figure is 28.9% higher over a span of 5 years. During the 2nd quarter, 37 houses were sold in Kenmore.
Established in 2016, the Brookfield Markets continues to thrive as it resumes on the 3rd of February this year from 6:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the Brookfield Showgrounds.
The market takes place every first and third Saturday of every month, bringing fresh and quality produce to the locals of the west.
The event is established in support of local farmers and to encourage sustainability and reduce food miles.
What To Expect
It’s not a market without an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables. It’s the perfect place to be on a Saturday morning as stalls are laden with colourful produce that embodies “healthy” and “organic.”
Photo credit: Brookfield Markets / Facebook
You will find exotic and unusual produce at the Brookfield Markets. There are specialist mushrooms, tomato, potato and citrus.
Photo credit: Brookfield Markets / Facebook
There are also dairy and delicatessen stalls, a vendor of cheeses, olives and many more.
Photo credit: Brookfield Markets / Facebook
A wide selection of fresh breads, chutneys and jams also await.
Photo credit: Brookfield Markets / Facebook
Bring the whole family and enjoy a great shopping experience!
Digital Finance Analytics has seen a spike in mortgage stress in September that involves suburbs in west Brisbane, Brookfield and Fig Tree Pocket.
Their new analysis shows that there are now more than 905,000 households in mortgage stress, with 18,000 in severe stress. Even affluent neighbourhoods are also feeling the pressure. Brookfield, like Fig Tree Pocket, is known to house higher income homes. The mortgage stress that they are experiencing is being driven by the rising mortgage rates and living costs, whilst real incomes continue to remain stagnant or worse, fall.
There are also plenty of households that are spending bigger money on mortgage repayments, higher power prices, childcare costs and other expenses. All of these are considered to be a deadly combination.
According to Martin North, the Principal of Digital Finance Analytics, “continued pressure from low wage and rising costs means those with bigger mortgages are especially under the gun. These stressed households are less likely to spend at the shops, which will act as a further drag anchor on future growth.”
“The number of households impacted are economically significant, especially as household debt continues to climb to new record levels,” he added.
The good news is, there are still ways to escape this vicious cycle of debt:
Have a clear budget – make a list of everything that you spend on, down to the tiniest detail. This may seem time-consuming but you will thank yourself in the end. Keeping a record of everything that you spend on will help you manage your finances.
Prioritise what you spend on – once you have written down all the things that you spend on, you can now prioritise how and where you spend your money. You will be surprised at how effective this is to your budget.
Consider going to the bank – the bank can provide you with loans to help you pay off your mortgage. Going to the bank to know what your options are will be a huge help.
With this growing trend, it is always best to remember that change begins in oneself. So, if you want to get out of your mortgage stress, start by knowing all the expenses you make on a monthly basis and don’t be afraid to ask for help in considering your options.
The new Churches of ChristHeadquarters in Kenmore just can’t really catch a break. Residents around the area seem appalled at how it’s shaping up. Apparently, they didn’t expect the building to be “so modern” and many consider it to look out of place in the suburb. There are other issues as well that have been raising eyebrows among the locals.
Last year, residents were complaining about how the whole construction process of this development seemed so disorganised. In fact, it was described as literally a “messy work-in-progress.” The development had brought in roadwork and footpath closures that adversely affected traffic around the area.
Now, as the Churches of Christ community centre slowly begins to take shape towards the end of its stage two completion, residents are shocked at how big it is turning out to be. The centre will house a 350-seat auditorium, a 75-seater cafe, and over 240 car spaces. Many say that its modern aesthetic makes it unseemly in a suburb that for the most part is not so modern.
According to one resident, at night, the centre is so well-lit that it’s hard to miss. The loss of trees to pave way for the development has also increased road noise by reducing sound cover. She also said that they didn’t understand how it would look like when it was proposed, hence their surprise now.
The nearby roundabout is also a cause for worry as it is anticipated that more vehicles will use this once the centre is finished, which can take longer travel time to get through it at school leaving time.
The acting chief executive of Churches of Christ David Swain said that their design and construction adhere to the development approval and the topography of the site. Mr Swain said that they are about to begin landscaping soon which will add more greenery to the area. To address the traffic issues, he said that there will be a new turning lane into the campus and the driveway to improve the flow of traffic.
