A draft report about the environmental impacts of a 24 hectares residential development known as The Trails has been published for public comment prior to Federal Government assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
The proposed development is located between the Bayview Conservation Area and the Over 50s Lifestyle Community Development, and to the north of the Shoreline housing estate project which was first approved in late 2015.
The Draft Preliminary Documentation Report done by Saunders Havill for SRCP (Shoreline) Pty Ltd finds that developing The Trails would remove 20.2 hectares of koala habitat. Within this habitat removal area is also habitat for greater gliders.
The developer is proposing to offset the proposed loss of koala and greater glider habitat by providing 82.2 hectares of offset sites 105 kms away from the proposed development site, near Esk in the Somerset Regional Council local government area.
EPBC assessment of The Trails
The developer’s referral to the Federal Government was published on 5 October 2021 as EPBC Number 2021/9047 The Trails Residential Development.
In its project referral, the developer said that the proposed development did not need to be controlled under the EPBC Act. The Federal Government disagreed, and decided on 1 November 2021 that the project would be a controlled action and that assessment would be done by Preliminary Documentation.
A few months later on 12 February 2022 the koala’s EPBC protection status was changed from Vulnerable to Endangered by the then Environment Minister Sussan Ley. On 5 July 2022 the greater glider’s conservation status was changed from Vulnerable to Endangered.
But in accordance with the EPBC Act, the Federal Government is required to assess the referral using the protection statuses in force when the project was referred. There is no ‘back-dating’ of rules under the EPBC Act. This was explained by Redlands2030 in a story about Redland City Council’s plans for sports fields nearby at Heinemann Road in Mount Cotton: Redlands Sports and Recreation Precinct Part 3 – Koalas.
An adjacent development, The Over 50s Lifestyle Community Development EPBC Number 2021/7052, was also referred in late 2021 and has obtained EPBC approvals for removal of 18.74 hectares of koala habitat conditional on providing 53.3 hectares of koala habitat offsets.
Birdwatchers might be interested to know that a raptor nesting site is located on The Trails development site in an area proposed for clearing. This matter is not addressed in Saunders Havill’s draft report, presumably because the raptor species is not listed as an EPBC protected species.
Development application MCU22/0013 proposing that this project be included in the Shoreline Plan of Development was given preliminary approval by Redland City Council at its meeting on 19 March 2025.
INVITATION FOR PUBLIC COMMENT
Here is information extracted from the complete notice for EPBC Number 2021/9047 published on the EPBC website on 18 January 2026.
The Trails Residential Development, Redland Bay, Queensland (EPBC2021/9047)
SRCP (Shoreline) Pty Ltd is seeking approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) to develop a residential development and open space at Lot 12 on SP268704 located at Serpentine Creek Road, Redland Bay, Queensland (EPBC 2021/9047).
In accordance with section 95A(3) of the EPBC Act, public comments are now invited on the Preliminary Documentation for the proposed development for a period of 15 business days from Monday the 19th January to Monday the 9th of February 2026. Hard copies of the Preliminary Documentation will be available at each of the following locations:
- Redland City Council Chambers – 1st Floor Administration Building, Corner of Bloomfield Street and Middle Street, Cleveland, QLD 4163
- State Library of Queensland – Stanley Place, South Brisbane, QLD 4101
The documentation can also be downloaded at: www.saundershavill.com/trailsresidentialdevelopment Part Ai: Part Aii: Part B:
Written submissions should be directed to: The Trails Residential Development, 9 Thompson Street, Bowen Hills, Queensland, 4006.
Email submissions should be directed to: epbc@saundershavill.com
All comments must be received by 5pm AEST Monday the 9th of February 2026. Persons with special needs (e.g. for whom English is a
second language or who have vision impairment) may contact Saunders Havill for assistance on 07 3251 9444
The deadline for commenting is 5pm AEST Monday 9 February 2026.
Speciest, ecocidal, psychopathic actions end now. How ludicrous to even consider these projects with endangered fauna and flora and a worsening climate crisis around the world. Truly tragic and totally unbelievable!?
Redland bay has already been overdeveloped with a significant impact on endangered fauna and flora. The loss of 20.2hectares of koala and glider habitat will never be replicated to the same value at the offset site. Longterm Redlands residents choose to live here for the wildlife and lifestyle, not for the wildlife in Esk. Shame on these developers and shame on council for even considering this proposed development.
I thought Bayview was protected?
Cutting this down is an assault on the work of previous decisions to protect it for good. There is good reason to protect wildlife around here. Please keep your mits off our Redlands wildlife reserve. Shameful council, shame on you. We do not support this.