Sunday 6 January 2008

What makes a builder green and sensitive?

The worst developer/builders in Clifton Beach are not limited to GlenCorp.

A builder who claims to be 'green' and 'sensitive' to the local environment' is Circa 2000.

Compare their statements on their website with the reality, and you'll see how all the development has gone wrong right across in this town.

Gibson Close

Note how this dwelling runs from property line to properly line, towering over the neighbours, blocking their air and light.

The owners of this house are unlikely to get any breeze from the ocean either, despite being only one street back.



Upolu Esplanade

This house, on a substandard 400sq mt block, completely blocks the house in back (with whom they share a driveway), and is built to the four corners of the allotment.

One edge of the house is next to a major drainage channel to the ocean, and this area routinely goes under water during high rainfall events. One has to wonder how someone will even be able to turn their car into this stupidly designed garage!

Neither of these dwellings was ever subject to comment by any of the neighbourhood, just houses that are too big jammed into allotments that are too small.

You have to question the approval process and a Council that sits their not willing to consider the locality nor neighbouring residents in the approval process.

These Circa 2000 houses use a lot of corrugated metal (apparently this is why they are 'Queensland designs', and look shabby and dilapidated in very short time.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Michael ... you've got it wrong ... again !
In you endless quest to blame everything wrong on this planet on the current Council you miss the important facts.

Here they are:

1. The Labor State Government (yes, them again), has removed the building approval process from Queensland Local Councils.
2. They created the State run BCA (Building Certification Authority).
3. Then they allowed "private certifiers" to ensure the requirements of the Building Act are met. These "certifiers" are responsible to the BCA, not Council.
4. Council only gets involved when the new dwelling "connects" to Council infrastructure, road crossing, sewerage, drainage etc.
5. The certifier lodges the plans with Council for record purposes, often after the dwelling is completed.

So how about baggin' the real culprits here ... State Government, and god help us if a Labor dominated Council ever got to make decisions regarding our beatiful Cairns in co-hoots with that imbecilic State Government.

Anonymous said...

When will you sign your name like any normal person Factman...

Here you are.. all you need to do is copy and paste into following messages...

Gary Scofield
Community Relations and PR Manager
Bum Boy to the Mayor
Cairns City Council

PS: Don't feed us this bullshit that the Council are not involved at all in what is built around our neighbourhoods..

Take you head out of the Mayor's arse as the over-whelming majority in this town are stick to death of been treated with contempt. You are living in some cosmic fantasy land Gary.

Anonymous said...

Factman, how about Council doing something about the Private Certifier. You know that you can. The Private Certifier "does the job of the Council" and signs off that it is correct in all aspects. The Private Certifier must follow the Development Approval process. However, if there is any deviation then they must get Council Approval. If they don't then they are in breach and Council can action against them. Such action could include referring the Private Certifiers transgressions to the BCA with a recommendation that their authority to practice as a Private Certifier be revoked. Particularly, when there is as blantant a disregard for property rights and processes as in the recent Villa Romana case. Pray tell what action the Council has or intends to take against the people involved in this fiasco.

Anonymous said...

Your comments on these two houses is absolutely correct. "Circa 2000" has trashed up several suburbs with their "trendy" house designs. Look at the picture of the Gibson Close house - do you think the residents there are going to ever get ANY sunlight? The only thing getting sunlight is the garage!

And both these monstrosities are within a hundred meters of the coastline. Guaranteed both roofs come off in a good blow, not to mention the walls which are cheap timber construction, inappropriate for the coastline in a cyclone prone area.

And who will be paying to rebuild these houses? All of us, thru our insurance and government handouts to the idiots that commissioned these houses.

Circa 2000 is clearly the worst homebuilder in the Cairns area. Despite their fancy website.

Anonymous said...

These houses are unbelievable. I had no idea. How many of them are out there?

Anonymous said...

Re the House in Upolu Esplanade (second photo).

A concerned resident wrote into Council asking how this overdesigned and badly designed garage entrance could possibly comply?
Here is Council's Reply (Signed P. Tabulo)

"The house was given approval earlier this year by a private certifier. It obtained the relevant approproval from Council for a siting dispensation. The access to the garage is a consequence the owner has to deal with."

Wrong answer CCC! It is not only the owner affected by this poorly designed and inappropriate use of the site. There must be a huge impact on the rear neighbours who share this common driveway, not to mention the adjoining residents, and all residents who either walk or drive past this dwelling with poor visual amenity.

To blame the private certifier is your usual MO. You can do something about these unlawful developments but you choose not to! Your continued failure to right this problem is another reason, why we residents are sick and tired of the lack of action on these matters and the continual buck passing! If you cannot fix the problem, then we will find someone else who will. For once, stand up for the rights of the people you serve!

The Clifton Cottages complex on Unity Street is another fine example of private certification and that building is not fit for human habitation and is a disgrace! The impacts on neighbouring properties and one particular owner (an 84 year old man who his patio cracked in 7 places because of the close proximity of the building to his house), is simply outrageous!!!! What are you doing Factman to assist this man in particular and these adjoinging neighbours?

Anonymous said...

There are a few of these Circa 2000 monstrosities around Clifton Beach. The architect involved in this junk is your typical psuedo-greenie, jumping on his conservation/Queensland/green/ecology bandwagon as his marketing hook, while the reality is clearly something different.

You don't build timber frame houses on the coastline.

You don't build too-big houses on too-small allotments stifling everyone's airflow and amenity.

And if you look closely at the Gibson Close house, you'll see that, in towering over the neighbour's house, it completely is blocking the neighbour's solar panel.

I agree that Circa 2000 is the equivalent of GlenCorp in their abuse of the environment.

Anonymous said...

I was told about the cairns blog and now that I've read some of the garbage you lot post I think I'll go back to The Cairns Post adult classifieds for more intelligent media.

Anonymous said...

Yeah "Apathetic Beach Dweller" aka SCofield Bum Boy.. you should head back to the Cairns Post classifields... it's the only intelligent reading in the paper!

Anonymous said...

Good one. You bet me to it. I mean, that's probably the ONLY reason to buy the silly newspaper.

Anonymous said...

I enjoy Cairnsblog. It makes my day and have hardly posted anything on here, but enjoy all teh comments.

What has facinated me is that there is only one (maybe 2) pro-Council supporters posting here, amoung heaps of anti-Council people.

I bet the upcoming election will reflect that view.

Anonymous said...

Cairns Blog motto:

"Help support our work to create a more accountable and open local democracy in Cairns."

Accountable and open my arse, I made a submission on this topic earlier today that was censored because it didn't reflect negatively on the original post.

Anonymous said...

Hi there "Another Clifton Beach Resident".

I am one of the CairnsBlog moderators whilst Michael is travelling.

I have seen every comment posted today - 52 in total.

None have been censored, including your one now, that falsely suggesting same.

Every commentor is given the right to say his/her piece and contribute to the debate, so long as they follow the Posting Policy listed on the right hand side.

Different veiews are not only encouraged, but stimulate the debate, and this is what CairnsBlog is all about. This is in contridiction to the way our Mayor tries to continually cease and stifle debate when it's citizens raise questions about the management of our city.

Factman is right that this Blog continually focuses on Council mis-management and exposes areas of concerns. However, Michael does not run this blog by censorship.

Please don't make up such claims in order to blur the truth, as it weakens your side dramatically. Conversely, it exposes pro-Byrne/Council supporters as decetful contributors to this very successful public forum.

Thanks for your support.

Johhny b
CairnsBlog Moderator

Anonymous said...

To Apathetic Beach Dweller - if you want to read garbage, then go back to the Cairns Post. They paint a picture of all is well in Paradise and it is clearly NOT.
One of the reasons why not, is because of apathetic morons like you do not lift a finger to change it!!
If you only read the CP, you are getting a biased view of reality and that is the point of this blog. Its about putting out other view points and issues for discussion that are ignored or misrepresented by the likes of the CP and Council.

Kylie and Drew said...

yeah, I think you guys are right, this house is over the top - the builder doesn't seem too concerned about the environment, but that would also be a reflection on the owner as well. They are just destroying the Queensland Image and a natural way to live.

They will probably get into a dispute with their neighbores about blocking light / breeze and probably noizy kids too, why does the council approve of this sort of visual genocide?


Kylie and Drew