Council slams State plans for Southern Thornlands PDA

A number of deficiencies in the State Government’s plans for its Southern Thornlands Priority Development Area (STPDA) have been identified in Redland City Council’s late submission approved at the Council meeting on 16 September 2026.

The Council’s full 18 page submission was kept confidential from the community prior to the Council meeting which is very disappointing. However, a summary of the Council’s position was read out by Cr Rowanne McKenzie during the meeting, and subsequently posted to her councillor Facebook page.

After the meeting the Council published a link to its submission on its its Southern Thornlands Priority Development Area (PDA) webpage.

A number of concerns about the State Government’s plans for Southern Thornlands were also raised in Redlands2030’s submission.

Council’s position on Southern Thornlands development plans

Listed below are the Council’s key points about the State Government’s plans for Southern Thornlands which were read out by Cr McKenzie:

• Population projections are not consistently applied across the PDA documentation. For our submission, the latest cited 24,000 population figure has been adopted.
• More detail on how background studies informed the scheme would increase confidence in the planning process, particularly as key planning elements were developed before some supporting studies, including the ecological assessment, were completed.
• The Green Network Plan relies heavily on the Eprapah Creek corridor and lacks a connected fauna network, particularly an east-west corridor through the centre of the PDA.
• Fauna crossings to maintain wildlife connectivity across major roads have not been identified, creating a significant risk to wildlife movement.
• The proposed industrial land along Mt Cotton, Duncan and Boundary roads is not supported due to the land being fragmented and environmentally constrained impacting the viability of employment uses being realised.
• While multiple locations have been considered for future school sites, the suitability of the proposed site on Woodlands Dve is questioned given the site’s topography and development constraints.
• Infrastructure costs assumptions are significantly below current market rates and Council’s recent delivery costs for comparable infrastructure and should be updated to reflect actual infrastructure costs.
• Land acquisition allowances for infrastructure delivery is smaller than recent council projects raising concerns that land acquisition costs are also undercalculated.
• The adopted land acquisition rate of $750,000/ha is significantly lower than current land values in this location and significantly understates the likely cost of acquiring land for infrastructure. Land valuations published by the Queensland Valuer-General indicate average land values of approximately $2.17 million/ha, almost three times higher than the rate adopted.
• Wastewater servicing remains a significant concern. More specifically capital costs estimates do not reflect market reality, inconsistencies in the network planning, detailed planning, investigations and technical assessment still required for the proposed wastewater servicing solution, the cost to double the capacity of Cleveland WWTP to service the additional 24,000 residents should be actual cost recovery and not based on inaccurate assumptions and a new effluent disposal solution to accommodate the increased capacity has not been clearly identified or costed.
• Traffic modelling and the proposed transport network being able to accommodate the full PDA requires further justification. Previous transport investigations had Springacre and Taylor Rds being duplicated, however these have been reduced to their current two-lane state.
• The impacts on the surrounding road network particularly Mt Cotton, Duncan and Boundary Roads have not been sufficiently addressed. The need to upgrade these corridors was recognised by the State Government 20 years ago and there’s been no progress on their delivery.
• Future proofing key transport corridors is essential to avoid expensive future land acquisitions and retrofitting for eventual road upgrades. Reducing the corridor widths will result in the same scenario we see everyday on Finucane Rd with no ability to upgrade.
• Council supports a 1HA community facility site however it is unacceptable the proposed funding is for land acquisition only. Costings should be amended to recognise the full cost to deliver the community facilities.
• The proposed District Recreational Park is more than half the minimum 5HA of usable land benchmark. This is of particular concern given the significant shortage of parkland and sporting infrastructure across the southern Redlands. Justification is required to demonstrate how halving the size of the park satisfies EDQ’s own planning standards and meets the needs of the future population.
• Council is not satisfied that the proposed District Sports Park site can function effectively given the site’s topography and environmental constraints. It will require extensive bulk earthworks to deliver so the true delivery cost will likely be higher than currently estimated.
• Further to this, Council does accept receipt of a financial contribution to deliver sporting facilities outside of the PDA due to the lack of suitably available land outside of it. The PDA should include a suitable site and funding for full infrastructure delivery.
• Planning for essential community infrastructure, including health, ambulance, police, fire and emergency services has not received the same level of attention as education facilities.
• The Development Scheme does not sufficiently address the impacts of 8,000 additional dwellings on existing city infrastructure, including the hospital and required upgrades to service a larger community along with efficient connectivity to the hospital and health precinct particularly Wellington St which is the only access point for patients, visitors, staff and emergency vehicles.
• EPBC presents a significant delivery risk for the PDA. EDQ as the planning authority should take responsibility for referring the development scheme to the Commonwealth for EPBC consideration.
• Given the fragmented land ownership along with anecdotal feedback from developers who have investigated opportunities in the area, there are concerns that development uptake may be slower than anticipated.
• Further information is requested to support the proposed infrastructure charges. The proposed infrastructure charge for STPDA is $53K per lot, compared with $75K per lot for the draft Waraba PDA. Setting charges too low will create a funding gap that will ultimately be paid for by the wider community through increased rates, taxes or government expenditure”.

After reading out the above points, Cr McKenzie concluded her speech by saying “Delivering on election promises shouldn’t come at the expense of good city planning.

Keep on having your say

Clearly the State Government’s plans for development of 8,000 dwellings in the Southern Thornlands PDA are grossly inadequate.

The State Government is setting up Redlands ratepayers and residents to fund hundreds of millions of dollars to develop the necessary infrastructure for Southern Thornlands. This will be a great outcome for property developers but will ensure that current Redlands homeowners continue to pay higher rates and charges than homeowners elsewhere in southeast Queensland.

Although the official period for comments to the relevant government agency (Minister for Economic Development Queensland) has closed, it’s still possible to let local MPs know what you really think about the State Government’s plans for Southern Thornlands.

Start with Rebecca Young the State MP for Redlands (which includes Southern Thornlands) and the Assistant Minister to the Deputy Premier and Assistant Minister for Planning, Housing and Better Regulation.

Contact details for Rebecca Young MP for the seat of Redlands – Email: Redlands@parliament.qld.gov.au Phone: (07) 3446 0100

You could also tell the other two local MPs how you feel:

Contact details for Russell Field MP for the seat of Capalaba – Email: Capalaba@parliament.qld.gov.au Phone: (07) 3915 0100

Contact details for Amanda Stoker MP for the seat of Oodgeroo – Email: oodgeroo@parliament.qld.gov.au Phone: (07) 3446 9100

Redlands2030 – 21 September 2026

Story updated 4:33 pm with the following text following comments from crs Rowanne McKenzie and Jason Colley:

The Council’s full 18 page submission was kept confidential from the community prior to the Council meeting which is very disappointing. However, a summary of the Council’s position was read out by Cr Rowanne McKenzie during the meeting, and subsequently posted to her councillor Facebook page.

After the meeting the Council published a link to its submission on its its Southern Thornlands Priority Development Area (PDA) webpage.