Richard Jones

There has been heavy investment in Rothwell over the last decade as young professional families have moved to the area.

This has included the following:
- State Government selling public housing to the private market (Cambridge Street, Rothwell)
- City Council selling land to the new development (Stockland - Promenade Rothwell)
- City Council selling land for the new petrol station and fast food outlets (7-Eleven and GYG)

Additionally, Rothwell has benefited from young professional families moving to the area for their children's education. Rothwell has high performing private schools and a brand new university campus in the suburb of Petrie.

Top-tier private schools in the area:
- Grace Lutheran College
- Mueller College

Top-tier universities in the area:
- The University of the Sunshine Coast - Petrie campus

Rothwell is 5 minutes drive to the Redcliffe peninsula which has multiple shopping centres with all the basic essentials (i.e. supermarkets, Target/Kmart, cinemas). Rothwell is also close 10 minutes drive to North Lakes for Westfield, Costco and IKEA.

The Government has invested heavily into the Redcliffe peninsula and this has lead to rapid gentrification over the last decade. This has encouraged developers to build waterfront luxury apartments and small business owners to open up their cafes and restaurants.

The best cafes in the area:
- Cafe Diversity
- Flock Eatery
- Preece’s
- Oasis

The best restaurants in the area:
- My Greek Cuzina
- Pilpel Restaurant

The best takeaways in the area:
- Yabbey Road
- Burger Time 69

In recent years, the development of Bee Gees Way and the the new ownership of the Redcliffe Jetty Markets has lead to influx of day trip visitors to the region. The markets are located along the entire main esplanade and are reminiscent of the inner-city markets of New Farm and West End.

While Redcliffe has multiple state schools on the peninsula, it is also closely located to high performing private schools in the suburb of Rothwell and a brand new university campus in the suburb of Petrie.

Top-tier private schools in the area:
- Grace Lutheran College
- Mueller College

Top-tier universities in the area:
- The University of the Sunshine Coast - Petrie campus

The Redcliffe peninsula has multiple shopping centres with all the basic essentials (i.e. supermarkets, Target/Kmart, cinemas). However, you will need to drive up to 20 minutes to North Lakes for Westfield, Costco and IKEA.

The most shocking aspect of moving to Redcliffe peninsula was the low quality of housing. The housing mainly consisted of asbestos-built beach shacks. However, over the last few years, these have largely been replaced with brand new homes as new residents take advantage of the relatively low prices. In addition, Stockland has also started expanding their housing developments in nearby Newport and Rothwell. This will lead to more positive outcomes for residents in the area.

The main negative aspect of living in Redcliffe is the commute to the Brisbane CBD. You have two options in this regard:
- Drive to Kippa-Ring station and take the train to Central station (total commute time = 1 hour)
- Drive to Sandgate station and take the train to Central station (total commute time = 1 hour)

The promise of a new train route to the Brisbane CBD was an opportunity to reduce the commuting time and reduce the unemployment rate. However, in reality the new train line that was over-budget, overdue, too slow in its current format and lacked timely connecting bus services. There needs to be a discussion to reduce the commuting time as the train line is currently a detriment to future economic growth in the region. I would suggest an introduction of express services that only stop between the Kippa-Ring to Petrie stations.

Redcliffe is a suburb that has a questionable past and a very bright future. The Government and small business owners have embraced the gentrification mindset and this trend will only continue as more people choose to make this region their home.