Cleveland Train Station: 124 apartments and coffee shop given final Council approval

Block of 124 apartments to be built on Cleveland Train Station’s northern carpark

Plans for construction of 124 apartments and a coffee shop at the Cleveland Train Station received final approval from Redland City Council, recently.

While a large eucalyptus tree next to the station will be saved it appears that the number of car park spaces for apartment visitors will not be increased in line with conditions imposed at a council meeting three years ago.

Curiously, the Council has approved plans for a coffee shop on land currently used for commuter parking on Shore Street West which was not the subject of the original development application.

What councillors approved three years ago

This controversial development application was granted preliminary approval at a Council meeting on 25 January 2017.

Two issues were of great concern to councillors: inadequate car parking for visitors to the 124 apartments and plans to remove a large eucalyptus tree on the south east corner of the site.

Instead of voting to refuse the development application, councillors agreed to an alternative motion proposed by Cr Tracey Huges and seconded by Cr Peter Mitchell.

This motion resolved to grant preliminary approval of the development application, subject to the following two conditions:

1. That the developer provide additional car parking for visitors to the apartments such as one visitor car park for every four apartments

2. That the large eucalyptus tree next to the Station be retained (instead of being removed to make way for a proposed kiosk).

Four councillors opposed the motion that this project be conditionally approved: Wendy Boglary, Lance Hewlett, Paul Gleeson and Paul Bishop.

Here’s a link to the video recording of the meeting. Discussion about the apartment project (Item 11.2.4) was described as “a lengthy and heated debate” in a Redland City Bulletin story.

Backstory for development plans at Cleveland Train Station

The opportunity to develop on this site was put out to tender in 2014 by the Newman LNP Government. Little known firm Envisage Management Development Pty Ltd was selected and they lodged a development application with Redland City Council in late 2015, by which time Queensland had a Labor government.

The commercial underpinnings of this privatisation deal have not been made public (does this sound familiar?) but it’s understood that the developer gets the right to develop on the train station site for no charge.

Here are some previous stories on this project published by Redlands2030:

• Cleveland train station development plans
• Robinson slams lack of train station parking
• Cleveland station needs parking not apartments

What was recently approved, under delegation

Council records for this development application MCU013612 show that final plans for this project were approved by a Council delegate a few weeks ago, on 31 January 2020.

The project has been approved as a two stage project with the coffee shop on the southern car park treated separately from the apartment block on the northern car park.

The recently approved plans show that the large eucalyptus tree next to the Cleveland Train Station will be retained.

Instead of a small kiosk close to the Station building, the developer now has approval to develop a coffee shop on the southern side of the train station, extending into the existing commuter car park.

It appears that the Council may have approved development on land which was not the subject of the original development application, which raises questions about whether or not the approval is legally valid.

If it were to proceed, this coffee shop development would result in the number of commuter car park spaces in the existing southern car park being reduced by 15 (from 89 to 74), according to plans approved by the Council.

The coffee shop plans approved by the Council show an additional 26 car parks to be provided by Queensland Rail as an extension to the southern car park. This area has been a landscaped entry statement for the Cleveland CBD since the time of Shire Chairman Merv Genrich.

The approved coffee shop plans also show a possible addition of 50 more commuter car parks by constructing a second level over the southern car park.

It’s not clear how works to deliver any extra car parks would be funded and when, if ever, the works might be done.  Presumably, the coffee shop developer will not be paying.

Perhaps if Bowman became a marginal Federal electorate, a congestion busting grant from Canberra would appear miraculously in a colour-coded spreadsheet.

Car parking for apartment visitors reduced significantly

The preliminary approval granted at a Council meeting three years ago advised the developer that an acceptable outcome would be to provide car parking at a rate of 1 space per unit for residents and 1 space for every 4 apartment building units for visitors.

The project is proposed to have 118 residential apartments and six small apartments described as tourist accommodation.

If the ratio of visitor car parks to residential units was in line with the council meeting resolution the developer would be required to provide an additional 31 car park spaces.

The negotiated decision, recently approved by a council delegate rather than the full Council, says the developer is required to provide just seven visitor car park spaces.

It seems very strange that a decision at a council meeting can be significantly relaxed by a council delegate without reference back to the elected councillors.

What’s not strange is that there’s been no announcement by the Council that it has relaxed visitor car parking conditions which were imposed three years ago.

Presumably, the plan was for this to stay under the radar at least until after the local council elections on 28 March.

Redlands2030 – 9 March 2020