President’s Report (Extract) YADCA Annual General Meeting 2023.
As a volunteer group, YADCA has worked with residents, organisations and government to ensure our vibrant hinterland town and district retain its heritage, charm and livability. As a community we are being challenged by rapid growth which is putting pressure on the town’s infrastructure and amenity. Unit development in the medium density part of town has seen a reduction in the cooling effect of vegetation as large blocks have been divided up and gardens and trees have been replaced by roofs and concrete driveways. Narrow roads are often lined with parked cars. There have been calls for our outdated footpaths, playground & skate facility to be upgraded. Residents want a dog park and a police presence. Concerns have been raised about the impact of increased traffic on the local road network and parking availability in the centre of town. YADCA has tackled a multitude of issues over the past year but two major developments focused the community’s attention.
The prospect of a service station on a dangerous intersection in the heart of Yandina’s cultural and heritage precinct was not welcome. Unfortunately because the development application was code assessable YADCA could only lobby from the side lines with no real power to influence the final result. YADCA, the Yandina School of Arts and Business Yandina did try to “stop the servo”. It is a great disappointment to the whole community that Council’s legal team negotiated an agreement to approve the service station in the Planning and Environment Court. The town will now have to deal with the flow on effects of this decision.
The approval of a 246 lot subdivision in SW Yandina ended 3 years of monitoring and relaying residents’ concerns to Council staff. While Council ensured that the application complied with the planning codes, residents are questioning the ability of the Wappa Falls Road / Nambour Connection Road intersection to cope with the projected growth in traffic volumes. Also the decision to close the northern end of Creightons Road and direct all rural traffic through the proposed residential estate via 4 roundabouts and 8 raised pedestrian crossings has raised serious questions about fire emergency evacuation measures.
One of the major issues facing Yandina is the cumulative effect of multiple subdivisions each of which is too small to require an upgrade to local infrastructure beyond the front boundary, and the government’s reluctance to allocate funds to upgrade existing infrastructure to ensure it meets current standards and the requirements of a growing population.
On a positive note, the developers of SW Yandina have been required to provide a footpath to the bus stop on Nambour Connection Road and YADCA is working with Councillor Law and an Active Transport Advisory Committee member to improve footpath connectivity around town and to school. King George VI Park has a fence and the skate facility has been improved. Initial investigations for a dog park in Yandina have been undertaken and an information sign and memorial plaque for the Gatekeeper’s Cottage will soon be installed. This is thanks to Councillor Law listening to the community and advocating on our behalf. I thank Cr Law for regularly attending our meetings.
YADCA is only as strong as the membership base and I thank members for showing their support, retaining their membership, attending meetings, communicating with the management committee and volunteering for odd jobs. With members support, YADCA can continue to inform, garner opinion and make representation on important issues.
Marie Reeve
YADCA President.
