Toondah Harbour without 3,600 apartments

Concerns about technical and environmental aspects of the proposed Toondah Harbour project are discussed in letters to Redlands2030.

Inadequacies and risks in the Toondah proposal exist because the planning was never done properly:

  • Community values were ignored.
  • The plan didn’t link to plans for the other parts of Redland City including the Cleveland CBD, or North Stradbroke Island.
  • The planning was not genuinely evidence based.

Have your say

If you want to have your say to other people in the Redlands send your letter by email to:

theeditor@redlands2030.net

Toondah referral documents are flawed

The EPBC Toondah referral is flawed. There is a problem with the approach used in the proposal for assessing the impact of the development on the migratory shorebirds. I understand that the developer is considering the importance of the area that is being developed for various species.

Therefore, the consultant has considered the area of the bay that will be impacted directly and to a lesser extent indirectly by the proposed development. The problem is that the assessment and conclusions drawn is focussed solely on the area directly impacted by the proposed development without considering what other activities are going on in the bay that will impact the migratory shorebirds for example.

There is another development “Shoreline” which will impact the migratory shorebirds and if it is considered in isolation then its impact may be small. But when one considers the larger scale and the cumulative effects of the various developments in other parts of the bay what is the impact on the species of concern, such as the Eastern Curlew bar-tailed Godwit and Curlew Sandpiper?

Urban development and its associated effects direct and indirect have heavily impacted the entire Western part of Moreton Bay. Water Quality measurements in the Western part of the bay have been improving but ecosystems there have still to recover.

Plans for the Toondah PDA will have to be a lot better than what has been seen to date.

KH
Victoria Point


Construction problems at Toondah Harbour

The referral documents asked the proponent to “Provide a detailed description of the proposed action including all proposed activities”. So far key elements of the construction appear to be either missing entirely from the description or lacking in detail. These include:

  • construction materials for bunds, revetments, slope protection etc including; volumes, sourcing, transport and placement.
  • the forms of building construction (including foundations), methods of construction and duration, in particular for locations close to sensitive areas.
  • transport methods for major construction materials to site by land and/or water.
  • the likely extent of vibration, noise, dust and pollutants produced in the construction processes.
  • traffic and other significant activities generated by the development itself (land and waterborne).

Unlike the previous referral, which contemplated a possible need to import fill, this time the construction proposals appear entirely reliant on the reuse of dredged (and excavated) material. It seems the intent is to achieve a net balance between dredging and reclamation. This approach may be consistent with good civil engineering practice, the geotechnical basis for achieving such a goal on this particular site is doubtful.

CM
Cleveland


Cumulative impacts of Toondah overlooked

Developments such a Toondah Harbour with up to 10,000 people concentrated in a small area will have a large impact on the viability of ecosystems in the Bay. These types of over-developments chip away at the environment undermining its health and its capacity to recover.

Where is the balance between development and environmental health in which people can enjoy the benefits of an effluent life style and still retain the health of the environment?

Where is the sustainable use of the environment?

The current way development which affects Moreton Bay is done is equivalent to death by a thousand cuts. It is a short sighted policy approach and must be changed.

There needs to be a proper assessment of cumulative impacts of the two PDAs and other projects (like Shoreline and the recent Logan River tourism project) , otherwise there will be a significant loss of the biodiversity of Moreton Bay and seriously decrease its amenity for the residents of the urban centres and suburbs around the Bay.

KT
Victoria Point

Toondah plans proposed by Walker Group

Toondah plans proposed by Walker Group in 2015 and more recently on 11 May 2017

Letters published by Redlands2030 – 9 June 2017

3 Comments

Rod Burke, Jun 18, 2017

Today Sunday I took my grandson for a bike ride from Thornlands to Toondar Harhour We were to have an icecream at the kiosk. We got there about 1 pm and guess what it was closed. The whole harbour complex was virtually empty.
If the area attracts so few people other than those catching transport to Stradbroke why do we need to sacrifice so much of the bay and attached parklands which are used by many people?

Pedro Plunkett, Jun 09, 2017

The correspondents have raised construction items. However the removal of the seafloor limnology
and removal of aquifers , marine clays and acid sulphate soils and site deposition of some of these
require further examination. The digging of deeper holes in the seabed or on siteand and plugging up with clay like on the sunshine coast should be rejected

Big Boy, Jun 09, 2017

The sheer weight of people planned to live and recreate at Toondah is worrying.
One only has to look at popular Wello Pt that is showing the weight of so many visitors. Noticed the other day the amount of rubbish, the little stuff, the drinking straws, the ring pulls, the bits of plastic, etc.
What will ten thousand people miss putting in the bin? Will they want to walk out to Cassim Island just like the throngs that walk to King Island off Wello Pt?

Please note: Offensive or off-topic comments will be deleted. If offended by any published comment please email thereporter@redlands2030.net

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