Photo above: What is now the Story Bridge, looking to The Old Windmill, Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill, far background and just left of centre with the suburb of Spring Hill on the right – State Library of Queensland, John Oxley Library.
The history of this suburb can be brought to life with street landscaping and planting and by making its streets and laneways community friendly.
In 2013 the Brisbane City Council commissioned a Spring Hill Renewal Strategy Plan. Brisbane’s oldest heritage precinct was to receive a long awaited upgrade plan. Every other suburb had been refreshed with street and footpath gardens, street calming, reduced speed limits, local traffic areas, garden furniture, pedestrian crossing improvements and intersection improvements.
Yet in 2018 when Brisbane City Council adopted a new Spring Hill Neighbourhood Plan, it did not include neighbourhood renewal upgrading, – the only changes were to its town plan.
Compared to other suburbs, Spring Hill is still sorely neglected. We have had a decade of businesses exiting the suburb, taking their people with them, leaving empty commercial buildings behind and the remaining businesses under stress. Our footpaths are in poor condition, the tree and street gardens carried out in recent times are mostly neglected or dead, and not replaced, adding to the poor visual appearance of the streets.
An increase in the number of Language schools in the Boundary Street area have brought in large numbers of International students. However, while this may benefit some businesses, the students themselves have neither a sense of community nor belonging as each student is here for such a short period of time. Therefore, education on road safety, negotiating pedestrian crossing and litter laws must be continual.
At present more than 10,000 students come into the suburb every day, to the child care centres, pre-schools, primary and secondary schools and the International Schools. The new Neighbourhood Plan for Spring Hill will come with many major changes and the time to plan for a more people friendly suburb is now. The need to create a new Spring Hill Renewal Plan which will deliver safer, quieter and healthier streets has never been greater. The opportunity to create interesting streets to attract and support small businesses is now.
We have been waiting too long on local and state governments to do what’s right by our community. We have to activate them into creating a liveable future for people who live and spend their time here.
This proposal has been prepared by a group of residents of Spring Hill to help build safety, liveability and value for this important suburb. It is hoped the proposals put forward here will help stem the relentless loss of heritage and green space and to initiate a discussion which is intended to result in action by Brisbane City Council, State Government, the private schools, the businesses and the Community.
It is time Spring Hill was appreciated and protected for its uniqueness, for its parks, for its history and for its diversity.
Spring Hill is a special part of Brisbane and we can’t sit by and watch that specialness sold to the highest bidder!