From my point of view as a dad of two teenagers, I look at this rezoning with a lot of positives. Developments like this so close to the city are essential in order to avoid a future that is blighted by long commutes to the city for work and play, eye-watering prices of new houses, driven skywards by a shocking lack of forward thinking, and drab, featureless developments that are depressing to live in, surrounded by nothing but more houses, dormitory housing estates with no sense of community.
What is proposed for the Lee Road is the opposite of all this. It is a fantastic looking development, offering places to live for families in the near future. The time and effort put into this shows that these guys are serious about building these houses, and soon, because now is when they are needed.
I see online that lots of concern is being expressed for the welfare of animals and birds. Don't get me wrong. I care about this, but there has to be some balance. The needs of the next generation of home makers also has to be taken into account. This planned development looks like a place where people would love to live.
I noticed some objectors to the rezoning put up some strange claims online. One or maybe two said that this part of the Lee Road has an 80Km speed limit. Wrong. It is 50Km. Some of the estimates for walking time from the development to nearby bus connections are a bit on the steep side. I like to think of myself as fit but I am no longer in my first flush of youth, but I can walk comfortably from the entrance of the proposed development to Sacred Heart Church in 12 to 13 minutes. In four minutes I can cycle at a sedate pace to the Mardyke.
Bottom line is, we are in the grip if a housing crisis that affects real people. Developments like this are badly needed, not just high quality neighbourhoods but built in the right place at the right time.
I heartily commend this development.