A resident of a street once praised for being an "internationally significant" community food project says she is shocked by a plan to turn part of it into a housing development.

The Urban Food Street garden in Buderim, Queensland, was contentiously chopped down and mulched by the Sunshine Coast Council in 2017, after residents refused to pay public liability insurance for the trees growing on verges.

Clithero Avenue resident Sherry Boulton said she and her neighbours had still not recovered from what she called "a brutal act".

"It crushed [the street's] soul, it took it away, it does not exist anymore," she said.

"There were quite a lot of people who did apply [for insurance] and still have food growing.

"But, I think the council's act of arriving one morning and taking out 18 mature fruit trees and subsequent trees all over the place was such a brutal act [that] most of us have not recovered.

"We're just starting to regroup as a group of people."

Ms Boulton said to now discover there was a planned subdivision on the street was "really a bitter blow".

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Development to turn four lots into 14

Three of the blocks of land up for development are owned by Duncan McNaught, who was considered instrumental in the food garden after he planted fruit trees and crops outside his property.

Ms Boulton said she had known his family for a long time and was disappointed that he had signed over his land.

"I think it's a little bit more than despair. It's very disappointing," she said.

"I think the ethos of what we have here, that we had discussed in great detail for so long, has just been ignored for personal interest."

June Cochrane, Sherry Boulton, John Cochrane and Cheryl Engel loved the Urban Food Street on Clitheroe Avenue in Buderim, but after its destruction, are now concerned by a subdivision on their street. ( ABC Sunshine Coast: Tara Cassidy )

Mr McNaught and his partner have been contacted for comment.

The development proposal by Condora Investments, owned by the Sunshine Coast's Rafter family, will turn four lots into 14.

Blocks will range in size from 700 square metres to 1,500.

A historic property, Clithero House, will be retained and most properties will face onto a new internal street.

Residents upset over 'destructive outcome'

Ms Boulton has also written to local councillor Ted Hungerford about what she calls her deep concerns about the plan.

She argues the project is against the council's own planning scheme, saying the destruction of trees and vegetation is not in keeping with the character of the area.

"These trees have been collected from all over the world, [are] tropical in nature and have a unique value," she writes.

"Two large South American ferns, over 30 metres high, provide many, many local Buderim walkers with a wonderful treat every year."

And she's not the only one.

John and Sylvia Pearson have written to the Sunshine Coast Council about what they describe as a "scorched earth development" on the site.

They write that after the council cut down fruit trees on what was a recognised Urban Food Street, the proposed project was a "devastating blow".

"The impact of a scorched earth development such as this will also have a massive impact during development," they write.

"Noise, traffic, construction and the removal of our ability to move around our community freely and safely is a major infringement on our rightful enjoyment of amenity."

Gardening Australia's Costa Georgiadis was once a visitor to the Urban Food Street. ( Supplied: Urban Food Street )

Street 'under-developed' says planning firm

Fruit trees lined the Urban Food Street on Clitheroe Avenue in Buderim before they were removed by the Sunshine Coast Council in 2017. ( Supplied: Urban Food Street )

The planning company putting forward the proposal, Innovative Planning Solutions, describes the area as "currently underdeveloped land".

It said there would be "high quality landscaping and streetscaping improvements".

Ms Boulton, whose family had owned her property for 46 years, said she was considering leaving the street.

"My lifestyle is pretty much over here," she said.

"Of course, many of us are considering [selling] and moving you know.

"We don't want to live like this, with our environment going. It's the first time in my life I'm considering it."