New life in the Park

Take a slow walk around the lake and enjoy the new life. Their first nest was washed away by the storms around Easter but all looks well now. There was five but one has been lost. We all hope the four young ones make it through.

Bellvista Shopping Centre

This sign appeared recently calling for leases for the new shopping complex on the corner of Lomond Crescent and Rawson St here on the Bellvista Estate. We can only assume the liquor licence has been obtained for the proposed Tavern too.

There is gossip going around the town that the IGA and Service Station on the corner of Caloundra Rd and Latcham Rd has been sold and will become a BP Service Station and a Fast Food outlet. So news of the new development here on our estate is timely as many residents use the local IGA for emergency and incidental shopping supplies.

Community and Aviation Forum

Bellvista Community Association had been invited to join the Community and Aviation Industry Forum by the Sunshine Coast Airport General Manager Peter Pallot. The purpose of the forum is to:

• Enhance co-operation and understanding between the airport community and general community by providing a forum for dissemination of information


• Residential amenity issues


• Information exchanges


• Business and development opportunities.

Other community groups attending:

• Halycon Park Residents


• Golden Beach Progress Association


• Parklands Community Group


• Caloundra City Ratepayers and Residents Association


• Sunshine Coast Enterprise

There will be representatives from the Aviation Industry, Airport Management and Local Government.

Minutes of this meeting will be posted on this blog.

Our draft response to the Caloundra South Paper

Here is our draft response to the Caloundra South Paper:

To whom it may concern

We are writing to Council today on behalf of the Bellvista Community Association inc (BeCA) to provide feedback with regards to Sunshine Coast Regional Council's Caloundra South Position Paper.

Part of our objectives as a Community Association is to listen to our members and provide a cohesive voice to represent the aspirations, needs and issues of our unique community in a non-partisan manner and to maintain a strong, independent voice to lobby, liaise and advocate for the Bellvista community’s interests with all levels of government.

As a community we are generally supportive of the overall outcomes proposed for Caloundra South. The possibility of a district activity centre with up to 12,000m² of retail and commercial uses (similar to Currumndi Market Place) within a short drive is something we are looking forward to as we believe it will complement our community nicely.

We are concerned with the timing of the duplication of Bellvista Boulevard and would like to see this completed prior to any further development which may increase traffic in and out of the estate. The two main reasons for duplication are:

1.We believe that by 2010, Unity College will have 1200 students. 75% of these children will come from outside our estate. Bellvista has only one access road so the traffic at school busy times is a problem. This is complicated by the roundabout onto Caloundra Road not operating as planned. With heavy transport coming in and out of the estate to develop any new release of lots and the traffic during school drop off and pick up times, we see it as imperative that Bellvista Boulevard is duplicated as a matter of priority;

2.Currently, as Bellvista only has one way in and out, the risk of emergency services being denied access to the estate as a result of an accident along Bellvista Boulevard is real and increasing. The consequences of this if someone is in urgent need of medical attention could be fatal. Our retired community in particular sees this as a real problem not just something which may happen someday.

We would like to thank Council for meeting with BeCA representatives' to brief us on the position paper and look forward to providing any further community input which may arise in the future.

Regards

BeCA

New Information Site

New Information Site
For thoes of you who used to follow the "Information Service" blog, please note it is no longer in use. The SCRC now use a web site called " Whats happening, http://www.whatshappening.com.au/ Try this site, it is full on information.

Community Grants

Community groups and individuals interested in applying for funding under Sunshine Coast Regional Council’s Grants Program or the Regional Arts Development Fund can attend both free information sessions and application clinics beginning in August.

Council’s Grants Program provides a range of grants to community groups and individuals for various programs, projects and events.

Additional arts development funding is available to locals through RADF – a partnership between council and the Queensland Government to support the development of quality arts and arts practice in the region.

Council is running a series of free information sessions on both programs from 4 to 13 August at Landsborough, Cooroy, Nambour, Noosa, Kenilworth and Kawana, at which community groups and individuals can find out all about the programs.

In addition, grant application clinics will be held at Nambour, Noosa and Caloundra from 24 August to 2 September. Potential applicants can give themselves the best chance of success by making a booking to meet with a council grants officer and work through their application.

The next funding round for both programs closes on 15 September 2009.

The previous round of council’s Grants Program provided funding for 86 projects around the region.

For more information visit the “For Residents” section on council’s website at www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au or call 5475 7272.

Is this really for Safety?

As seen by the photo above the Council have started pulling out our gardens and replacing them with mulch. They say it's a safety issue, but why has it become a safety issue only now when the council have taken over the maintenance for Bellvista. Is this to become the norm? Is this going to happen all around Bellvista as a cost cutting measure? Do we want the gardens or are we happy with the mulch.

Here is some of the text from the letter we received from the Council: "The reasoning behind this is removing the understorey planting will promote a healthier street tree as there is less competition for water and nutrients. Also being a growth area we will start seeing more pedestrian traffic so this will allow for better site lines for both vehicles and pedestrians as well complying with the MUTCD and creating a safer work environment for our staff, and in my opinion a better aesthetic appeaI."

Is this is an issue with you, contact us and join the "Landscaping Sub-committee" and help us make our point with the Council. Or send Cr. Grossskreutz an email and let her know your opinion: anna.grosskreutz@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au
If you wish to join our landscaping sub-committee email me on mohrie@bigpond.com