Oxley Creek Common is a large natural wetland environment and an important area of open space within urban Brisbane.  It is accessed via Sherwood Road, Rocklea.

Prof Hugh Possingham has recorded, over the past 3 years, over 176 species of birds on the Common.

We, as Friends of Oxley Common, seek to protect it from unsustainable use and development, and investigate and develop potential uses that sustain its natural values.

Stop Press

Our Community Farm Proposal is now available here. Its a large file [11mb pdf] so please be patient while it downloads.
 

2009-NEWS FLASH

Brisbane City Council's Development Assessment Officer Jennifer Hausler advised that on 3/12/08  Brisbane Markets Limited was given prelliminary approval to relocate a wetland , rezone the land etc re their project at 320 Sherwood Road.  She said she received a statutory declaration stating SIGNS had been erected on Sherwood Road from 29/5/08 to 15/7/08.  We were waiting for these signs to send in our response to the re-zoning aspect in particular.  Subsequently we found out 3 of 4 signs were positioned on the wrong property and were on Walter Taylor Drive but one sign was supposed to be on Sherwood Road.  No one saw that one sign on Sherwood Road although we had lots of people looking out for the re-zoning signs.    

Next we were advised the above development was unapproved by BCC's Development Assessment Branch followed again by a new approval which knocked out retailing on the site. 

2008 -  NEWS FLASH
ZONING ISSUE RE 9.7HA OF THE OLD DPI RESEARCH FARM AT ROCKLEA, LOT 5 SP192424 at 320 SHERWOOD ROAD, ROCKLEA, BRISBANE

The zoning of Lot 5 SP192424 (the 9.75ha of top high ground of the old DPI Research Centre is still zoned “for community use”.  
 

A bit of history re this 9.75ha top high ground Lot 5 SP192424 is that in 1999 the Department of Primary Industries commissioned the Brisbane City Council to run workshops with community groups on the site followed by a few months of workshops in the Brisbane City Council’s City Library to come up with ideas for this high ground and the low land too.  I attended all of those meetings.  After those Brisbane City Council run meetings, community consultations was non existent until AFTER the sale in 2002 by the State Government of their then government owned market infrastructure to the Brisbane Markets for $74 million which also gave the Markets the first right of refusal to purchase this 9.75ha parcel across the road from the bulk of the infrastructure sold.  Subsequently, in August 2007 the State Government actually sold to the Brisbane Markets this extra 9.75ha cheaply as it is zoned “for community use”.
 

The Brisbane Markets have now put a development application A001941284 into the Brisbane City Council which entails a material change of use for this 9.75ha and this application is still in assessment by the Brisbane City Council.  However, it did take the Brisbane Markets two years for their last development approval for their Southgate Project to go through Brisbane City Council and gain approval. The Southgate project is nearly complete and is on the Common side of Sherwood Road up towards The Rocklea Hotel.

However, re the 9.75ha at 320 Sherwood Road, in my opinion, community consultations have NOT been done correctly and so, as a result, I believe the community is in a good position to keep this community land somehow.

By Marion Forrest (President of Friends of Oxley Common Inc)