A Sewer Servicing Strategy for Shoreline’s 4,000 home project in southern Redlands will be discussed on Wednesday by Redland City councillors, according to the published meeting agenda.
The 4,000 home Shoreline project, located outside the urban footprint, was approved controversially 6/5 by Redland City Council in November 2015.
Councillors only received the proposed 231 page Infrastructure Agreement at 6:00pm the night before the meeting according to a report by Judith Kerr in the Brisbane Times.
A ‘news release’ issued subsequently by Redland City Council included the following comments attributed to Mayor Karen Williams:
As a potential future urban area, Council has been able to ensure that all necessary Council infrastructure, such as water, sewer and parks, will be provided to service the development at no cost to the existing Redlands community.
Shoreline will deliver $100 million in infrastructure – including major upgrades to state roads and tens of millions in other infrastructure – with private money which is not borrowed from Council or ratepayers.
The developer’s responsibility for infrastructure provision was underscored in a comment attributed to Cr Julie Talty who was the Council’s City Planning and Assessment spokesperson:
The application assessment process has involved significant state and council negotiated conditions and a separate infrastructure agreement with the developer, who will be responsible for providing the necessary infrastructure directly related to the development as well as outside the development to mitigate wider impacts on the city and the region.
In short, the developer will provide all of the necessary infrastructure at no cost to the exisiting Redlands community.
4,000 homes approved without a sewerage plan
When the project was approved in 2015 it didn’t include a detailed sewerage plan for 4,000 new homes, though the cost of sewerage was estimated to be $39 million according to the Brisbane Times report.
Shoreline proposed to remove sewage with tankers for the first 200 homes.
In the absence of a properly thought out sewerage strategy, Council agreed to allow tanker transport of sewage from the first 200 Shoreline homes to treatment plants at Mt Cotton or Victoria Point.
Two and a half years later, no tanker transport of sewage has been required because no homes have yet been built at Shoreline. Finding a cost effective way to deal with sewage may have been too challenging for local developers Fox and Bell.
In June this year, it was reported that publicly listed company Lend Lease (ASX LLC) had taken over the lead role in the Shoreline project. Details of the deal have not been made publicly available.
The Shoreline Sewer Servicing Strategy is listed for discussion as a closed session item at Wednesday’s Council meeting, on the basis that: “public discussion would be likely to prejudice the interests of the local government or someone else, or enable a person to gain a financial advantage.”
Hopefully, councillors will ensure that Shoreline’s sewerage strategy complies with the 2015 Infrastructure Agreement and the developer will provide all of the necessary infrastructure at no cost to the exisiting Redlands community.
The next Council meeting is on Wednesday 8 August commencing at 9:30am in the Council chambers at Bloomfield Street Cleveland.
Members of the public can observe proceedings from the public gallery except when the meeting is closed to the public and media.
Nothing to see – move along please
Video cameras were installed in the Bayview Conservation area in March 2018.
Despite community demands for Redland City Council to install more video cameras in public places such as car parks, transport terminals and Council managed public places, a do nothing policy was adopted at the last council meeting.
Cr Boglary said cameras could be used as a tool to curtail antisocial behaviour and the CCTV policy of other councils referred to antisocial behaviour.“It has to be written into the policy,” she said.
But a majority of councillors disagreed with her proposed amendment that dealing with anti‐social behaviour be included in the policy:
The motion to adopt a minimalist security camera policy was passed 8/3:
- Crs Karen Williams, Peter Mitchell, Paul Gollè, Lance Hewlett, Mark Edwards, Julie Talty, Murray
Elliott and Paul Gleeson voted FOR the motion - Crs Wendy Boglary, Tracey Huges and Paul Bishop voted AGAINST the motion
If you want to know more about the Council meeting on 25 July you can:
Koala habitat classification retained
14-20 Bonnie Street in Thornlands. Yellow shows the property boundary, green shows current koala habit protection and red shows where officers recommended protection be reduced.
At its meeting on 25 July, Redland City Council refused a request for reduction in protection of koala habitat on a property at 14-20 Bonnie Street in Thornlands.
The motion, going against the advice of officers, was supported by all councillors except Mark Edwards.
Cr Paul Golle who moved the refusal motion said on his Facebook page: “Private land management practices have caused the reduction of the High Value Bush Land Habitat, not natural selection and so therefore the site can be rejuvenated, correcting the clearing and maintaining the current state mapped designation, without down grading the site for the sake of the development application.”
Earlier this year Councillors voted 6/3 to retain High Value Bushland koala habitat protection on a property at Unwin Road Redland Bay.
Integrity forum on 9th August
Dr Nikola Stepanov and Mr Alan MacSporran
Integrity and accountability of elected representatives will be discussed by high profile guest speakers at a community forum in the Redlands on 9th August 2018.
The event is being hosted by two state government politicians, Kim Richards the MP for Redlands and Don Brown the MP for Capalaba.
Special guest speakers at the forum will be:
- Queensland Integrity Commissioner Dr Nikola Stepanov
- Chair of the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission Mr Alan MacSporran QC
Anyone interested in attending should RSVP to Kim Richards’ electorate office: Redlands@parliament.qld.gov.au
The forum is being held at My Horizons, Runnymeade Road, Capalaba, commencing at 6:00pm.
Redlands2030 – 6 August 2018
Please note: Offensive or off-topic comments will be deleted. If offended by any published comment please email thereporter@redlands2030.net
4 Comments
Recall early days when Coolnwynpin Creek in Capalaba had raw sewage flowing into it where chemist by Old Cleveland Rd bridge complained the stench was unbearable. At the time people turned to me for help so got in touch with council who apologized about the overflow over weekend causing such a stink in the waterway. Water couldn’t be seen for all the growth on the surface and recall seeing an empty beer barrel sitting on top by the then Soccer Club by the bridge. Equipment was brought in to clean up the mess but there were further spills as one morning there was a knock on my door by manager of 19 Crotona Rd units unable to rent any units due to overpowering stench from the creek. State/local govt operators allowed commercial developer Mr Endacott to lower by crane towering concrete walls smack onto the riparian zone forever creating a dark, enter at own risk place, favoured by graffiti artists and social misfits. Again, by request, wrote Editor Brian Hurst of BB about the stench as drivers could smell it driving past Capalaba Central. The letter brought results and new pipes were installed.
Capalaba Wreckers also were guilty of polluting the creek system that straddled the creek so again I was contacted by locals, so with evidence of waste products from squashed cars polluting the waterway, it was arranged for then MP Michael Choi to accompany me to Council in order to close the opening into the creek bed. He came, on being reminded by Cleveland MPs office, to pick me up and drive to Council to bring about closing the opening to satisfaction of nearby residents. Recall having received a call from manager of Water and Waste who picked me up to show me around the Capalaba sewerage works on other side of the creek from where I live, dressed in white, which was interesting and thoughtful of him.
I second the comments made below by Toni and furthermore I submit that it is time for this conflict of interest between some councillors and certain developers to be called for what it is. The Rate Payers of the Redlands should not be paying for infrastructure costs such as sewerage so that developers can make huge profits. You may not be aware of the sewage problems that faced Redland City Council (RCC) in 2009-10. The CEO of the Council at that time was Gary Stevenson and he decided that the RCC could save money by dropping the weekly maintenance of the sewage pumping stations in Victoria Point and Capalaba. This caused a huge stink, which affected the nearby residents. Also the holding tanks became clogged. The CEO, Gary Stevenson, stated that RCC did not have enough funds to maintain the sewage stations in 2009-2010 but he would consider it for the following financial year. Some of us contacted the Department of the Environment, then called DERM. They inspected the sites and found raw sewage leaking onto the ground and into Moogoorapam Creek. The CEO was given 6 months to fully maintain the sewage stations or face fines of $100,000. I am pleased to report that by 7th July 2010 the maintenance work was done but the cost of upgrading just the Victoria Point Sewage Station exceeded $160,000. A 42-tonne sewage tanker was used to empty clogged sewage tanks and the subsequent damage to water pipes close to the Council Easement was paid by the residents. I was one of those residents and my water pipe repair bill came to $700. None of this was recompensed by RCC.
The CCC should look into this development before it begins.
What a disgrace that this sewerage issue has got this far.
Fox and Bell and others bought this successful farming land cheap and then proceeded push to have the area included in the Council Planning Scheme and SEQ Regional plan, but was refused by Council and the State Government. In late 2015 a few months before the Council election the Shoreline was approved by a 6/5 The Williams team signed it off even though there were conflict of interest questions. An agreement was signed and all the services and infrastructure were included and to be paid for by the developer. Time marches on and a few months ago Lend Lease pops up around the same time as the Developer and Lend Lease quietly ask Council to pay for half the sewerage as the developer claims the development doesn’t stack up financially (that means they don’t make as much profit as they expect). Majority of Councillors refused the deal. All developers in Redlands pay for the water connection, the power connection, the footpaths, local roads, and most of all SEWERAGE. Why should the ratepayers in Redlands cover this cost to make these developers more wealthy and what sort of precedent does this set for others to abuse the system. The developers know the rules, as they have done development in this city and elsewhere before, bought the land cheap, outside of the urban footprint, and now expect another golden egg. What a sham if the Council allows this shameful expectation by the developer to proceed.