GOOD growth is change that makes a community stronger.
Highfields business owners, residents and civic planners will put this idea to the test at a forum on November 3 at the district’s Civic Centre midway between Toowoomba and Crows Nest.
The forum, to be moderated by Fairfax Media’s Brad Cooper, is the culmination of several workshops and meetings that the Highfields and District Business Connections group has staged in a bid for the community to plan its future.
If we don't have some control over the planning of our community we'll end up with just another shopping centre, and that will be a disaster for Highfields.
- Jim O'Dea, president Highfields and District Business Connections.
As Mr O’Dea explained to Queensland Country Life, growth was undeniably coming to Highfields simply due to its close proximity to Toowoomba.
But not all growth was good, he said. Carved out of a paddock on the fringe of the city for daily commuters, Highfields has a small shopping complex and a civic centre. Its library is still housed in a ‘donga’.
Beyond that it’s a sprawling web of yet to be completed housing developments, which doesn’t bode well for the community if that’s left unchecked, according to Mr O’Dea.
“If we don't have some control over the planning of our community we'll end up with just another shopping centre, and that will be a disaster for Highfields,” he said.
“What we’re striving for is one big project the community can get behind and put up as a solid ‘investable’ business case that will generate interest and collaboration between the community, government and private investors.”
Panelists taking part in the forum will include Steve Torso, the co-founder and managing director of Wholesale Investor, one of Australia’s largest capital raising platforms. Mr Torso is a regular contributor to Fairfax Media titles including the Australian Financial Review and the Sydney Morning Herald.
He will be joined on the panel by Federal Member for Groom Dr John McVeigh, while urban designer Robert Prestipino and other experts in the room will provide feedback on Highfields’ business case. The forum will run from 6-8pm. All welcome.
