Here’s what you told us in our survey
on the Draft Wynnum Centre Suburban Renewal Precinct Plan
53% of those surveyed were opposed to the plan
As with many of our surveys here on WynnumCentral we often have a relatively small number of participants, but as we’ve said in the past (ad nauseam maybe), the feedback has generally been an excellent gauge of public sentiment despite the generally small samples.
The most important question was of course ‘Are you generally for or against the proposals in the plan?’ and the feedback from our sample of 64 participants was close, with 53% opposed to the plan and 47% in favour.
At the bottom of this article you will find the full survey results and all of the comments that were made where we asked four open ended questions ie…
- What do you believe are the positive aspects of the plan?
- What do you believe are the negative aspects of the plan?
- Do you have any suggestions as to what could have been included in the plan, but wasn’t?
- Do you have any other thoughts, comments or questions?
From a very quick and dirty analysis of all comments in these four questions, we identified three common themes…
- 43% of participants mentioned parking (either current or future lack thereof) as a major issue
- 28% of participants mentioned building height increases as a major (negative) issue
- 21% of participants mentioned a lack of sufficient greenspace in the plan
No surprises there then! At least with the first one.
Our take
All surveys are subject to some form of bias, and one of these is where the issue relates to substantial change. In these cases it is natural that there is often going to be a larger number of people against the change than for it – ‘nobody likes change’. But you have to ask the question anyway!
Bear in mind that 18.75% of participants said they had not read the plan itself at the time when they completed the survey.
What we are doing now is publishing the full results of the survey (below), which means that they are accessible to anyone – including Brisbane City Council and local government representatives (at all levels of government).
And bear in mind as well that, as stated in our first article on the draft plan:
these proposed changes are changes to the planning environment, and so would need to be taken up by developers for this vision to come to fruition
…plus there are always opportunities to have your say in each and every proposed development.
As we also mentioned in the first article, WynnumCentral is largely in favour of the draft plan, but this does not mean that it cannot be improved by feedback from people who submitted their thoughts directly to council, as well as the feedback we have received from the 64 people who completed our survey. We hope there are some changes as a result.
PS neither Steve Jobs1 of Apple nor Henry Ford2, founder of the Ford Motor Company were big fans of asking people what they wanted – to massively paraphrase comments from both men… “nobody knows what they want until they see it, which is a problem if what you have is a completely new thing.”
Recent community meeting
WynnumCentral did not attend this recent meeting where around 200 people came along to hear more about the plan and ask questions and give their feedback.
Councillor Alex Givney, who attended the meeting, mentioned her thoughts in her last newsletter (21st November)…
Many who attended were there because they love their bayside home and wanted to express their concerns. I respect that completely.
It has been disappointing to see some misinformation circulating about the plan. No, the plan does not include Manly. No, there is no intention to turn Wynnum into the Gold Coast, in fact the plan protects our waterfront by limiting future development into the core of the Wynnum CBD.
Our town planning team are experts in their field, and they are working collaboratively with State Government, Urban Utilities and Queensland Rail. I am working alongside them to advocate for our local needs.
I understand that the future of our bayside is an emotional topic and there are passionate views in the community about the future. This is our home and change can feel uncomfortable. I encourage you to read the plan and provide your feedback and keep a few key points in mind:
- Our city is growing and we need more homes.
- Increasing supply creates more options for downsizers, families and those wishing to enter the market. It can also help stabilise prices.
- If you are not comfortable with the heights proposed, you may be comfortable with them in some locations but not others. Make these recommendations in your submission (editor: now closed).
- Proposals such as this are considered in areas where infrastructure and services are already available.
- This plan is not only about housing. It is about supporting local businesses, rejuvenating public spaces and making our town centre more walkable. It is about creating a place where people can live, work and enjoy our community.
Finally… we fielded a few questions in the WynnumCentral survey ourselves:
One of our participants asked a question directed at WynnumCentral – ‘What will you do with the info?’. Our answer – Publish it in full here!
Another question was ‘Is this a meaningful survey???’ Our answer – Only time will tell!
1 Jobs’ words were ‘It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.”
2 Ford’s words were (allegedly) “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses,””
See individual comments and responses to these survey questions…
