Taigum Woman Undergoes Awake Brain Surgery to Remove Tumour

A 33-year-old woman from Taigum underwent a rare three-hour awake brain surgery at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital to remove a tumour from a critical area of her brain.



Larissa Kilpatrick, a resident of Taigum, was diagnosed with brain cancer earlier this year in January after suffering a seizure, which led doctors to discover a tumour. By April, she was preparing for an awake craniotomy, a procedure where patients remain conscious during surgery to help reduce the risk of damaging important brain functions. 

Ms Kilpatrick’s tumour was located near the region of the brain that controls speech, making the decision to stay awake during the surgery crucial in protecting her ability to speak.

During the operation, Ms Kilpatrick was accompanied by speech pathologist Nadia DeSilva, who played a key role in monitoring her speech throughout the procedure. Ms DeSilva, a Churchill Fellowship Scholarship recipient, worked with the patient to perform speech tasks, ensuring the surgical team did not cause any harm to her communication abilities. 

Awake Brain Surgery
Photo Credit: Churchill Trust

While awake, Ms Kilpatrick repeated words and listened to music, such as Taylor Swift songs, to stay calm. Though Kilpatrick recalls feeling nervous going into the surgery, she followed the team’s instructions closely and remained focused. 

Six months after the procedure, Kilpatrick continues to undergo chemotherapy, with nearly a year of treatment remaining. She credits the awake surgery with giving her another chance at life and expressed her gratitude for the support of her partner and family, who have helped her through both the good and difficult days of recovery.



Looking ahead, Kilpatrick is focused on her ongoing recovery and is eager to regain her strength, with plans to return to regular physical activity when her health allows.

Published 18-Oct-2024

56 New Townhouses to Redefine Taigum Living

Substantial housing development is in the pipeline for Taigum, with plans lodged for 56 new townhouses at 321 Rogan Road. The ambitious project, designed by Linear 56 Design, aims to construct three two-storey buildings, offering a mix of detached and attached four-bedroom dwellings.



Taigum
Photo Credit: DA A006484714

The proposal outlines a low-medium density development, ensuring each townhouse benefits from private outdoor space in a 35sqm courtyard. In addition, residents will have access to generous communal areas, including a swimming pool, sun lounge, pavilion, and lawn. The development will also feature ample parking, with 154 car spaces and dedicated bicycle parking for residents and visitors.

Taigum
Photo Credit: DA A006484714

JFP Urban Consultants, the project’s planners, emphasise the development’s efficient use of existing urban land and infrastructure and compliance with all relevant planning regulations. The proposed buildings will occupy 13,540 sqm of the 28,534 sqm site, ensuring a significant portion of the open space remains.

Taigum
Photo Credit: DA A006484714

Access to the development will be via a new private road off Rogan Road, and extensive landscaping, including deep planting and creating a drainage reserve, is planned. The project will be developed in two stages, with the first incorporating the communal open space amenities.

Photo Credit: DA A006484714

This development represents a considerable addition to Taigum’s housing stock, catering to the growing demand for family-friendly accommodation in the area. The focus on providing private and communal outdoor areas, convenient locations, and ample parking will likely make this development highly attractive to prospective buyers.



The development application is currently under review, and if approved, construction is expected to commence shortly.

Published Date 27-August-2024

Kerbside Collection Is Coming to Brisbane’s Northside

Heads up, people on the northside! Kerbside Collection is coming to Brighton, Deagon, Sandgate, Taigum, Shorncliffe, Boondall, Zillmere, Virginia, and Geebung this October.



The 2022 Kerbside Collection pick-up schedule will be as follows: 

  • 3 October – Brighton, Deagon, Sandgate, Taigum
  • 10 October – Shorncliffe
  • 17 October – Boondall, Zillmere, Virginia, Geebung

For the schedule of other suburbs, Brisbane City Council has a Kerbside Collection calendar.

For periodic reminders so you won’t forget your schedule, download Council’s free Brisbane Bin and Recycling app and keep push notifications enabled.

Residents are advised to place all acceptable materials for collection on the kerbside the weekend before the collection starts. These items should be on the kerbside in front of your home by 6 am at the start of the collection period.

Some of the acceptable items for collection include bath and laundry tubs, bicycles and sporting equipment, carpet and rugs, electronic waste* (e.g. televisions and computers), furniture and white goods (e.g. fridges and stoves), small household appliances (e.g. fans and toasters), and wood products less than 1.5 metres.

You may also consider donating your still-usable items to organisations that can recycle or find other uses for them including GIVIT, Charitable Recycling Australia and BCC’s Treasure Troves. 

GIVIT

This not-for-profit organisation serves as a link between the communities in urgent need of essential items and those who have and are willing to donate. GIVIT was established in 2019 by Juliette Wright. Their platform allows charities to make potential donors aware of what are the exact items currently needed by the individuals that they support.

Charitable Recycling Australia

Charitable Recycling Australia proudly supports circular economy transition through charitable reuse and recycling. With the help of member enterprises who provide their decades of expertise in the collecting and sale of donated goods, the organisation has been extending the life of about 285 million products each year and pioneering the concept of circularity even before it was officially named.

Treasure Troves

Council currently operates two second-hand shops which sell donated items for Brisbane residents. The items come from BCC’s resource recovery centres. 

Brisbane City Council’s Treasure Troves are open from 8 am to 4 pm every weekend (excluding Easter Sunday, as well as Christmas Day and New Year’s Day when these days fall on a weekend).



These shops are located at 46 Colebard Street West in Acacia Ridge and at 27A Prosperity Place in Geebung.

The resource recovery centres are located here:

  • Chandler Resource Recovery Centre, 728 Tilley Road, Chandler
  • Ferny Grove Resource Recovery Centre, 101 Upper Kedron Road, Ferny Grove
  • Nudgee Resource Recovery Centre, 1372 Nudgee Road, Nudgee Beach
  • Willawong Resource Recovery Centre, 360 Sherbrooke Road, Willawong

Plans for a Mixed-Use Precinct in Taigum Under Assessment

A development application has been lodged to turn one precinct in Taigum into a mixed-use site with food outlets, a service station, childcare and medical centres, and sports and community venues. The developer also plans to build a multiple dwelling retirement area within the Beams Road location.



Mewing Planning Consultants stated in DA A005727469 that the project’s nature and scale anticipate the needs of an Emerging Community Zone without impacting its ecological surrounding, including the existing swim school nearby. Covering 2.1 hectares, the proposal details a vision for a precinct with at least five distinct areas.    

One area will entail repurposing an old church into a health care centre, where it will be surrounded by four other retail buildings with dining options, including a few fast-food drive-thru services.

Photo Credit: Developmenti/BCC
Photo Credit: Developmenti/BCC

The developers also said that future plans for the dwelling houses and retirement facilities will be submitted in separate applications.

Dubbed The Collective under Patona Property, the development has an expected completion date in the fourth quarter of 2022, if the plans are approved. 

Photo Credit: Patona Property


However, whilst the plan has the support of the residents, some suggested that the precinct should have cafes and fewer fast-food restaurants. 

“There are plenty of fast-food restaurants within a short distance,” one resident said in the DA submissions. “What the area does need is a cafe precinct for the community. The area is lacking decent cafes and a development that supports community connection and small business is much needed. I believe a cafe precinct would be of particular value when retirement/aged care living is proposed for the area.” 

The DA, filed in May 2021, is still under assessment with Brisbane City Council. 

New Subdivision Proposed For Taigum

A developer from New South Wales has submitted plans to reconfigure one lot into a 50-lot residential subdivision and create a 5,000-sqm park space in Taigum.


Read: Youth Who Stayed at Bald Hills Homeless Shelter Graduates from QUT


Located at 502 Church Rd in Taigum, the 6.72-ha lot is one of the last untouched blocks of land in north Brisbane. Back in 1981, it was sold for only $25,000. At present, the property is estimated to cost around $1.3- $1.8 million. The value would eventually go higher once the proposed residential subdivision is approved.

Aerial view of subject location (Photo credit: https://developmenti.brisbane.qld.gov.au

Plans (A005748925) lodged by JFP Urban Consultants on behalf of the applicant reveals that the residential lots would be designed to accommodate detached one and two-storey residential dwellings. 

Based on the attached documents, there are also plans to fill in an existing dam and build new roads connecting Church Rd and Brushbox St. However, a large portion of the land will be retained for a drainage reserve area.

Plans (Photo credit: https://developmenti.brisbane.qld.gov.au

The subject site has been identified within the Local Government Infrastructure Plan as requiring a 5,000-sqm future trunk park. The LGIP stipulates land within the subject site is to be acquired and embellished to provide local recreation infrastructure between the years 2021 and 2026.

In response to this, the applicant stated during a pre-lodgement meeting with the Brisbane City Council in December 2020 that the proposed development has been designed to dedicate the 5,000-sqm trunk park in accordance with the application LGIP mapping.


Read: Residents Thumb Down 5-Storey Developments in Sandgate Neighbourhood Plan


“This can be further increased via the dedication of additional parkland on the property at 468 Church Rd. On-street bicycle pathway connections will be provided in accordance with the applicable overlay mapping and it is anticipated that Council will condition any development to provide this,” said the applicant. 

To stay updated regarding this development, see DA-A005748925.