Approved Development for Ellendale Retail Centre to Add a Swim School

A new swim school has been submitted for inclusion at an approved shopping, food, and medical centre development in Upper Kedron. The neighbourhood centre, to be called Ellendale Retail Centre, is situated along Canvey Road, Levitt Road and Honeyeater Street.



The development application (DA A005625123) proposes the inclusion of an Indoor Sport and Recreation site within a row of shops and a health care service facility. 

“The proposal adequately manages the impact on the amenity and character of adjacent uses in the locally with respect to the overall outcomes of the zone,” the developer Town Planning Alliance stated. 

“The new Indoor Sport and Recreation Facility requires 15 spaces, meaning this application proposes a shortfall of 5 spaces. The swim school will operate at off peak times for the centre and therefore mitigate the shortfall.” 

Photo Credit: PD Online/Brisbane City Council
Photo Credit: PD Online/Brisbane City Council

Meanwhile, a few residents have welcomed the planned town centre but expressed a need for a small green grocer and bakery. They also said that having a new medical facility with a chemist will be a huge help to the residents who have to drive miles away to get their prescriptions filled out.



However, one resident raised a question about the water quality and wildlife on Cedar Creek.

“What work will occur to ensure this precinct does bit adversely impact the Creek?” the resident asked.

Construction of Ellendale Retail Centre has not yet started. The Council approved the site on 20 Nov 2020 (DA A005343816) but will still decide on the separate application for the pool facility’s addition.

Council Adopts Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Neighbourhood Plan

After almost three years of debates, Brisbane City Council has finally adopted the Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Neighbourhood Plan. The updated neighbourhood plan will take effect on 21 September 2018.

The Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Neighbourhood Plan has been through extensive updates. From late 2015, Brisbane City Council worked with the community to update the neighbourhood plan which was originally adopted in 2007 for the suburbs of Ferny Grove and Upper Kedron. The neighbourhood plan also focuses on the area south of Cedar Creek.

Cedar Woods Development

On 1 September 2015, the Queensland Government called for an amendment to the neighbourhood plan following a review of a controversial development application at 390 Levitt Road, Upper Kedron.

Photo credit: Brisbane City Council

The DA involves a proposal for the Cedar Woods project that initially involved the development of 1,349 residential lots. The Council approved the development in December 2014 after reducing the scale to 980 lots.

Community Inputs for the Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Neighbourhood Plan

The Council had considered feedback from the community in the making of the draft neighbourhood plan.

Between November 2015 and December 2016, Council received 600 online survey responses, 330 submissions on a draft strategy document, four information kiosks, four Community Planning Team (CPT) meetings, and direct contact with Council planners by letter, email, and phone.

Members of the CPT were concerned with the preservation of the area’s bushland and at-risk fauna and also considered options for development being located in clusters away from bushfire-prone areas.



Draft Neighbourhood Plan

The Council’s draft amendment update of the plan was made available for public notification from 1 June to 14 July 2017. On the course of the notification, Council received 685 properly made submissions.

In response to submissions, Council made the following changes to the draft neighbourhood plan:

  • Reaffirmed our intention to protect and enhance local ecological areas and waterways by replacing the revegetation plan required by the Queensland Government’s conditions of May 2017 with provisions that require future revegetation and rehabilitation of corridors to contribute to local and regional biodiversity values.
  • Reaffirmed the range of housing types and dwelling unit density preferred in the area through the inclusion of a ‘Cedar Creek south precinct plan’ illustrating the desired outcomes.
  • Ensured the natural topography of the area is maintained and require site-responsive design for development on steep slopes and at risk of natural hazards.
  • Ensured the safe development of future homes by including updated bushfire hazard provisions and mapping.

Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Neighbourhood Plan
Photo credit: Brisbane City Council

On the other hand, the following components of the draft neighbourhood plan remained unchanged:

  • Provision of a 40-hectare conservation area along Mt Nebo Road, which recently transferred into public ownership, with a further 51 hectares of rehabilitated ecological and waterway corridors to be transferred to public ownership at no cost to the community in the future.
  • Minimum lot sizes and preferred dwelling unit densities, to be established through two precincts so that residential lots transition from urban to natural environments.
  • Support for an efficient transport network and an emergency-access-only connection to Mt Nebo Road.

Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Neighbourhood Plan
Mt Nebo Road, Upper Kedron Photo credit: Google Street View

Updated Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Neighbourhood Plan

The Queensland Government advised the Council on 28 May 2018 that the amendment package could be adopted subject to conditions.

The neighbourhood plan has been amended to include:

  • an emergency services and active transport link connecting the Cedar Creek south precinct to Mt Nebo Road (subject to further detailed transport planning and community consultation) in the road hierarchy overlay map
  • future bushfire risk mapping provided by the Queensland Government in the bushfire overlay map
  • a revegetation map (including regional ecosystem types), provided by the Queensland Government, for reference within the bushfire overlay code.

Brisbane City Council formally adopted the updated neighbourhood plan, including Queensland Government conditions, on 28 August 2018.

The Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Neighbourhood Plan is a legal document that forms part of Brisbane City Plan 2014 (City Plan), to guide future development in the local area.

You may visit the neighbourhood plan’s official page to learn more.

You may also download the adopted neighbourhood plan for more details.