Doolandella Archives - Forest Lake News

New Development Plan Proposes Childcare Centre and Homes for Doolandella

A development application proposes a childcare centre and new housing on land in Doolandella.

Read: Doolandella Neighbours Team Up to Sell Acreage Properties to Developers

The application (A006831357) concerns 66 Crossacres Street, where a 10,185-square-metre block has been identified for subdivision and the construction of a childcare centre. The design, prepared by Raunik Design Group, outlines a single-storey facility with space for 165 children, alongside 11 new residential lots and supporting infrastructure.

The childcare centre would occupy a 4,000-square-metre lot fronting Crossacres Street, with direct access for both staff and visitors. Plans show a maximum height of 7.64 metres, a gross floor area of 1,159.6 square metres, and a site cover of 29 per cent. The existing dwelling and outbuildings on the property would be demolished to make way for the development.

Doolandella — Artist’s impression of proposed childcare centre and subdivision of lot (Photo credit: Brisbane PD Online)

Subdivision details show 11 residential lots ranging in size from 312 to 368 square metres. A 600-square-metre drainage lot is also included, along with a new road reserve connecting to Paddington Street.

The planning report supporting the application highlights demand for childcare services in the area. Analysis by Business Geographics found that the catchment could sustainably support an additional 160 to 220 childcare places through to 2031, and concluded that the area is undersupplied.

childcare centre — Childcare centre plans (Photo credit: Brisbane PD Online)

The report also notes that the neighbourhood centre at the corner of Crossacres Street and Blunder Road has been absorbed into a shopping complex, leaving no space there for a purpose-built childcare facility.

If approved, the centre would add 165 places to local childcare capacity. The existing dwelling at the site will also be demolished if plans receive the green light. The residential component is presented in the planning documents as a response to housing supply and choice in a market described as undersupplied.

Read: Doolandella: Among the Most Affordable & Liveable Suburbs for Houses in Brisbane

The design includes a drainage lot to address stormwater management and a new road reserve to improve local connectivity.

The application will be assessed against Brisbane’s planning framework, with community submissions and feedback considered before any final decision is made.

Published 3-October-2025

Doolandella and Inala Residents Among Five Charged in Major Drug Lab Bust

Queensland Police have uncovered an alleged commercial-scale methamphetamine laboratory in Logan, charging five people including residents from Doolandella and Inala in connection with the operation.

Read: Forest Lake Residents Step Up Efforts to Save Endangered Black Swan Cygnets

Major drug operation uncovered

During a raid on Tuesday, 22 October, detectives from the Drug and Serious Crime Group executed a search warrant at a Park Ridge property as part of Operation Whiskey Vivid. The operation, conducted jointly by Queensland Police Service (QPS) and Australian Border Force (ABF), revealed what police allege to be a sophisticated drug manufacturing facility.

Police report seizing approximately two kilograms of crystallised methylamphetamine (‘ice’) and five litres of methylamphetamine oil from the property. The raid also uncovered three firearms, including a semi-automatic rifle and two handguns, along with a substantial amount of cash.

Doolandella and Inala residents implicated

Among those charged are a 42-year-old man from Doolandella and a 32-year-old man from Inala. Both face multiple charges including producing dangerous drugs, possessing dangerous drugs, and possession of property suspected of being used in connection with drug offences.

clandestine drug laboratory — Photo Credit: Youtube/QueenslandPolice

Three other individuals have also been charged: a Park Ridge couple, both aged 31, and a 32-year-old man from South Ripley.

A second raid at a Rocklea business premises yielded additional evidence, including cash, a cash counting machine, and ammunition. Police allege the group was coordinating the production and distribution of illegal drugs both within Queensland and interstate.

Detective Inspector Bradley Phelps from the Drug and Serious Crime Group emphasises the potential impact of the operation. “A clandestine lab of this scale can produce significant quantities of methylamphetamine which has the potential to cause untold community harm,” he says.

Read: Eastern Brown Snake Sends Shivers Through Forest Lake Community

The Synthetic Drug Operations Unit has been deployed to safely process and dismantle the laboratory. All five suspects are scheduled to appear before Beenleigh Magistrates Court, as investigations continue.

Police encourage anyone with information about drug production or distribution to contact Crime Stoppers online at www.crimestoppersqld.com.au or via 1800 333 000.

Published 29-October-2024

Traffic Lights to Be Installed as Part of Safety Upgrades at Intersection in Doolandella

Photo Credit: Siobhan Dolezal from Pixabay

A long-awaited, significant safety upgrade is coming to the hazardous intersection of two bustling roads in Doolandella as traffic lights are soon to be installed at the Blunder Road and Wallaroo Way intersection.

Long-Awaited Safety Upgrade in Doolandella

Councillor Charles Strunk, who has been advocating for the safety upgrades at the intersection of Blunder Road and Wallaroo Way, Doolandella since 2015, made the announcement recently. The safety upgrades will involve the installation of new traffic lights. In his social media post last August, Cr Strunk said that the upgrade is a “safety win for commuters and bus drivers” who use the busy intersection on a daily basis.

Traffic Lights to Be Installed as Part of Safety Upgrades at Intersection in Doolandella — Photo Credit: Facebook / Charles Strunk Councillor for Forest Lake Ward

Cr Strunk had been working with stakeholders including Doolandella Neighbourhood Watch, bus drivers and officials from the Queensland Rail and Bus Transport Union (RTBU), and Doolandella locals in campaigning for the installation of traffic lights at the said intersection.

Apart from its troubling history of accidents, recent enhancements to the main roads and local development have led to a significant increase in traffic volume along Blunder Road and Wallaroo Way.

The scheduled construction is set to be carried out in the 2023/24 financial year. Cr Strunk said he will be closely monitoring the process to ensure that the Council fulfils its commitments to the local residents.

Traffic Light Implementation in Brisbane

Brisbane City Council oversees an extensive network of roads spanning more than 6,800 kilometres, including more than 50,000 intersections. To improve pedestrian, cyclist and motorist safety, traffic lights are used at intersections where there is a substantial volume of vehicular and pedestrian traffic throughout the day.

On major roads, traffic lights provide a safer environment for vulnerable users including pedestrians and cyclists and are considered as a more cost-effective measure.

BCC and the Queensland Government have a Memorandum of Understanding for the joint management of traffic signal coordination at 40 key intersections throughout the city. Within this set of 40 prioritised intersections, the Council assumes control and management responsibilities for 12 of them, whilst the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) oversees the remaining 28.

Published 5-September-2023

Doolandella Neighbours Team Up to Sell Acreage Properties to Developers

A pair of neighbours from Doolandella have decided to team up to sell their acreage properties to interested developers, amidst the housing boom in Forest Lake and its surrounding suburbs.

Wally Wrona and Nora Cerneaz, the homeowners of 53 and 55 Crossacres Street, have agreed to list their land on the market together, offering more than 20,000 square metres of flood-free space primed for housing or other future developments.

After 30 years of living next to each other, Mr Wrona and Ms Cerneaz believe it’s time to pack up as the surroundings around them continue to change.

Ms Cerneaz said she doesn’t want to stay and witness more tearing down. Mr Wrona, on the other hand, understands that their combined lands could be valuable to a community as it’s near all the conveniences of a burgeoning residential hub.

In the last few years, 21 new houses were built on the hectare block next to Mr Wrona’s property. He said that both his land and Ms Cerneaz’s site will really help with the volume housing developers are looking for.

According to realestate.com.au, their lands are conveniently accessible to:

Richlands railway station is 10 mins drive
TAFE Qld Inala campus and nearby shopping Plaza
Brisbane CBD accessible by motorway in under 40 minutes
Serviceton South State School (3 minutes)
Oxley Bunnings or the Home Superstore (9 minutes)
Forest Lake recreational parks and shopping centres
Logan motorway & Centenary Highway entry points
Springfield Orion shopping & commercial centres

Mr Wrona lived on Crossacres Street since the 1980s. The son of Polish World War II immigrants, his family is friends with the Palaszczuks. Ms Cerneaz’s family, on the other hand, acquired their Doolandella property in the 1990s after leaving Texas.