Photo credit: Spice4Life
Christmas is a time of giving and a Forest Lake resident made sure that she gives more than she receives.
Ms Elizabeth Ferguson first posted on the Forest Lake community page weeks before Christmas looking for strangers to have lunch with on Christmas day. She specifically posted that she’s looking for someone “who has nowhere to go and might not be able to have a nice X’mas lunch due to finances.”
The lunch will be for four adults in their 60s and 80s. Her kids couldn’t come for Christmas lunch so she was left with two empty seats. However, she thought that no one would come having no response for a few weeks but at the last minute, two adults turned up, one from Spring Lake and the other from Forest Lake.
Ms Ferguson was very happy to have the empty seats filled and the fact that she has gotten to know these strangers more.
According to her, she always wanted to open her home to the less fortunate and lonely but her family discouraged her in the past. This also comes from her parents dying many years ago and how she would always feel sad during Christmas day.
Next year, she plans to start a register to connect people spending Christmas alone with families willing to open her homes.
Photo credit: Ray White Forest Lake
Forest Lake residents have formed a group opposing several housing developments in various areas within the suburb.
The group is called FLAG, which stands for Forest Lake Action Group and they are taking action towards property developments within the area which they consider to be “unsuitable.” These developments are:
- 150 Lovat St., Ellen Grove – 41 Townhouses
- 35 Roxwell St. Ellen Grove – 44 Townhouses
- 50 Crossacres St. Doolandella – 94 Townhouses
The group consists of real estate agents, solicitors and residents who are urging the Brisbane City Council to refuse the approval of these developments. The group believes that their suburb deserves better than these high-density developments.
For instance, traffic congestion is getting worse on streets with recently completed townhouses such as the one on Roxwell St. To add insult to injury, the suburb is also tackling issues about illegal dumping, further adding a burden on already congested streets.
Related article: Forest Lake Is One of The Leading Suburbs With High Cases of Illegal Dumping
Cr Charles Strunk shares the same sentiments as the residents of Forest Lake and said that the council should put more thought into the level of high-density developments in the suburb.
On the other hand, responding to the negative feedback, the council has requested the Ellen Grove development on Lovat St. to be reduced from 41 townhouses to 36. However, the group does not think this is enough and said that even if it gets reduced to 36, it still doesn’t comply with the Brisbane City Plan 2014 and the Local Government Infrastructure Plan, which cites that Lovat St. is an emerging community zone that only allows 18.8 dwellings per net developable hectare.
Another concern of the residents is the sewerage capacity which may not be able to accommodate increased density dwellings. However, the residents are concerned about sufficiency of sewerage capacity, despite assurances from Queensland Urban Utilities.
Photo credit: RunSociety
Forest Lake will soon be welcoming the iconic fitness and community-building initiative, parkrun.
Runners from Forest Lake have met with a parkrun representation this month to talk about a potential track. It is a 5km route that would follow a bush track behind St John’s Anglican College from the oval on Forest Lake Boulevard to the end of Blunder Rd.
However, the ambassador for the event, Kristen McGuire said that nothing has been made official yet but she is confident that an event will push through early next year.
parkrun organises free and weekly 5km timed runs all over the world. It is open for everyone plus it’s free! All people of every ability are encouraged to be a part of this event and it aims to hold an event in every community that wants one. They have already hosted over 30,000 events in 260 locations all over the world.
Tim Oberg, the person responsible for bringing this to Australia met parkrun founder Paul Sinton-Hewitt in 2010 in Wimbledon, where Tim asked Paul if he could bring the parkrun concept Down Under. Not long after that, he was given the go-signal, and that’s when it all started. In 2011, parkrun was officially launched in Australia.
Photo credit: BrisParks
Situated in the heart of Forest Lake in Brisbane, Lake Parklands is one of the best places to go to if you want to get a taste of Queensland’s wildlife and take in the beauty of mother nature. Just recently, Cr Charles Strunk revealed the masterplan for a revitalised Lake Parklands area.
Following an election promise, Cr Strunk guarantees that he will restore the area. The $50,000 masterplan will be signed off by the end of 2017. The plan includes an ampitheatre at the lake stage to host council movie nights, bands and other events. There will also be an exercise park near the lake boat ramp.
Large areas would also undergo re-turfing along with the installation of new seating and barbecues in several locations. Rotundas will also be restored.
Cr Strunk held a public consultation meeting with the residents and said that all their feedback was being considered before the final draft is adopted.
Photo credit: acclaimtree.com.au
Some Forest Lake residents are expressing their disapproval against the Brisbane City Council’s tree-felling plans. They are saying that the trees that are to be removed are native trees and they don’t look like they pose any threats to merit their removal.
Trees marked with a blue “R” are prevalent in the suburb, which means an arborist confirmed indicated removal. A local who lived by the lake voiced out his concerns and said that he has never had problems with the trees that have been marked. He also thinks a simple removal of dead or protruding limbs or trees that really show signs or rot will suffice but most of the marked trees are in pretty good condition.
The council couldn’t confirm the number of trees that will likely be removed, but reports indicate that at least two dozen around the lake have been marked.
The unnamed local also pointed out that marking the trees are vandalism. A council spokeswoman said that that investigation of the trees are ongoing in the area following complaints from residents about the trees in the suburb that are impacting their properties adversely and posing safety risks for parkland visitors. In turn, the arborists were deployed to inspect the trees in the area. Some of the marked trees are subjected for further investigation.
There is no confirmation yet whether the council will replace the trees that are to be removed in the area. According to current procedure and guidelines, there is a one-for-one replacement policy for the removal of hazardous trees.
Photo credit: Pinterest
Queensland is on its wettest October on record yet and the abominable rainfall is set to continue. It’s only the start of the wet season in the state but some towns are already experiencing horrific summer storms. Southeast Brisbane is the most affected region, and this includes Forest Lake.
According to the recent National Roads and Motorists’ Association (NRMA) data, the southeast Brisbane area such as Cleveland, Belmont and Capalaba were the most affected region in the state last financial year. Reports show that close to half of home claims in the state last year were related to storm damage.
Five most storm-affected suburbs in Brisbane
- Forest Lake
- Capalaba
- The Gap
- Carindale
- Chapel Hill
Forest Lake is also included in the top five most storm-affected towns and suburbs in Queensland along with Proserpine (1st), Cannonvale (2nd), Mudgeeraba (3rd), and Capalaba (5th).
In the wake of cyclone Debbie, the suburb also had a high amount of fallen debris and trees.
Although severe weather is no longer new to Brisbane, the Brisbane City Council continues to work hard to ensure plans and resources are in place. This includes making sure that the communities are prepared for the quick recovery of the city when storms or other disasters hit.
In fact, the council has a communication campaign called “Be Prepared” that informs communities on preparing for severe weather, This promotes public awareness of the council’s online tools such as their severe weather Early Warning Alert Service and Flood Awareness Maps.
An All Hazards Disaster Management Plan is also in place that outlines prevention, preparation, response and recovery arrangements in the communities. You can view more about these guidelines here.
