Planning for future development of the Birkdale lands will be discussed by Redland City Council on Wednesday.
Zoo, university, housing and sporting facilities are among ideas for use of this site which have been floated by politicians, governments and Redland City Council over the past decade, especially during election campaigns.
This 62 hectare property, formerly used by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), was purchased by Redland City Council from the Federal Government in December 2019 for $4.1 million.
The Council has now concluded investigations into environment, heritage and infrastructure constraints and is poised to begin community engagement about possible future uses for the site.
Who wants a university in the Redlands?
The prospects of a university being built on this site were canvassed by LNP politicians and and Mayor Karen Williams ahead of the 2015 State election.
Karen Williams followed suit, promising to “Progress purchase of land as incentive for Redlands university”, during her 2016 mayoral campaign.
But there is very little chance of a traditional style university campus being attracted to Redland City.
In September 2018 Redland City Council adopted the Redland City Education and Training Industry Sector Plan 2018-2023 which says:
“For a large and comprehensive university campus, a population of 500,000 is generally cited.”
Redland City’s population is currently estimated to be less than 160,000.
What about urban development?
Redland City Council unsuccessfully attempted in 2016 to have the Birkdale lands included in south east Queensland’s urban footprint.
The draft SEQ Regional Plan, published in October 2016 for community consultation, showed that this site had been re-zoned from Rural to Urban. This change request had been made secretively by Redland City Council.
Capalaba MP Don Brown (Labor) lobbied the State Government to remove the Birkdale lands from the Urban footprint, saying in July 2017:
“The Birkdale bushland is some of the last remaining bushland in the north of Redland City and part of a key ecological corridor that should be protected for future generations,”
The Birkdale lands were excluded from the Urban footprint in the final approved version of the SEQ regional plan released by the State Government in August 2017.
In 2018 the Federal Government announced plans for this land to be sold for development of up to 400 houses. This prompted public indignation from Mayor Williams who initiated a petition asking the Government to “Stop the sale of Birkdale Commonwealth land for 400 houses”.
Zoo talk before the 2019 Federal election
A few weeks before the 18 May 2019 Federal elections, incumbent MP Andrew Laming proposed that the Alma Park Zoo, homeless since 2014, relocate to the Birkdale lands.
A Courier Mail story published on 31 March 2019 said:
“Redland City Council and Federal MP Andrew Laming have courted the company, keen to secure the attraction and help boost the local tourism industry”.
A Redland City Bulletin story headlined “Commonwealth land at Birkdale tipped for famous Alma Park Zoo” was published the next day which just happened to be April Fools Day.
An on-line poll in the Bulletin’s story asked: “Should Alma Park Zoo come to the Redlands?” The idea was popular – 74% of respondents said yes.
“Great response to my idea” said Mr Laming in one of six posts about the zoo move on his ‘Andrew Laming MP’ Facebook page.
Surprisingly for such a popular idea, there’s been no news about the zoo move since Mr Laming was re-elected.
Redlands’ Olympic dream and the Birkdale lands
In July 2019 Redland City Council announced that it was investigating a combined whitewater rafting/canoeing and emergency training facility which could be used as a venue for Olympic Sports if the 2032 Olympic Games are held in south east Queensland. The Birkdale site is likely to feature in any plans devised by the Council.
But Logan City’s plans for an Olympic standard white water sports venue are well advanced. A pre-feasibility study was completed in September 2019. Plans to “test the water” for private sector investment interest were announced in March 2020 by Logan City Council.
Redland City Council is also investigating site options for developing new sporting fields. Investigations by the Council found that the Heinemann Road property in Mount Cotton, purchased from the Goleby family in 2017 for $7.3 million, can yield only 21 hectares of sporting and recreation facilities instead of the originally anticipated 46 hectares.
This leaves Redland City with a residual requirement for 55 hectares of new sports fields. It’s likely that the Birkdale lands are being considered by the Council as an option for meeting this sports field deficit.
Community engagement about the Birkdale lands
The officers’ report (item 14.4 on the meeting agenda) presents the findings from various planning studies and seeks approval to commence planning work for the property including the development of a vision for the end use of the land and consideration of short term site activation options.
The planning studies identify that the site’s conservation and heritage values are significant constraints on future development but suggest that approximately 22 hectares may be considered for new activities.
The proposed resolution includes that Council consult with the community about development of the end use vision but there is no mention of any community consultation about “short term activation options”.
In particular, the officers’ report proposes that the Council formally adopt a Heritage Management Plan for the site which consists of the heritage and ecological reports listed above.
Site investigation reports which are now publicly available in the Document Library on the Council’s Birkdale Land website include:
- ‘Conservation Management Plan Former US Army Radio Receiving Station’ by Australian Heritage Specialists – 27 July 2020
- ‘Review of Indigenous Heritage Values’ by Australian Heritage Specialists 13 August 2020
- ‘Ecological Assessment Report’ by Cardno – 18 June 2020
- ‘Preliminary Engineering Assessment’ by Empower – 18 May 2020
- ‘Opportunity and Constraints Analysis’ by Urbis – 18 August 2020
Redlands2030 – 14 September 2020
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2 Comments
Alma Park Zoo was one of the best cared for animal parks we visited with our Children My daughter studied at Dubbo Zoo tried for 2 years to get work at Australia Zoo and has had to go to Sydney to get zoo employment.think how many young Redlands youth could be employed while keeping this land green and lush . A University would be cement and more cement over our beautiful red volcanic soil . Most of the farms are gone to housing . The Animals need a good home our children need the enjoyment of somewhere to go close to home . A Zoo in the Redlands will bring so much money into this area from visitors to our beautiful area .
“The Birkdale bushland is some of the last remaining bushland in the north of Redland City and part of a key ecological corridor that should be protected for future generations,”
I couldn’t agree more – The Redlands is being overdeveloped and we need to protect our reminding Bushland
Our quality of life her is being continually eroded – Whats left of our wild life needs supporting – As for a Zoo , they are a revolting outdated concept, put the University in all the vacant shopping district in Cleveland , Olympics are a huge waste of public money – people need nature to recreate and stay sane – enough of this Greed and environmental stupidity promoted by the LNP – they just want to bull dose the lot and smother it in housing