Introduction
Redlands2030 welcomes the opportunity to comment on the State Government’s proposed Development Scheme for the Southern Thornlands PDA (Priority Development Area).
Redlands2030 is a community organisation with several thousand followers, advocating good planning and governance for residents of Redland City.
In this submission we make the following observations about the proposed Development Scheme for the Southern Thornlands PDA.
- The amount of residential development proposed for this PDA is excessive and this will cause further deterioration in economic and environmental sustainability of life for folk living in Redland City.
- It is likely that long suffering Redland City ratepayers will be required to fund a significant amount of the infrastructure needed for the proposed development. This will put further pressure on Redlands homeowners who already pay the highest local council rates and charges in southeast Queensland.
- The proposed development will be environmentally harmful – especially to Redlands’ endangered koalas and to the water quality of Moreton Bay’s Ramsar wetlands.
- Declaring a PDA to be managed by a State Government agency (Economic Development Queensland) takes planning and approval decision making away from the local community and its elected representatives (the Redland City Council).
- The Southern Thornlands PDA has many different landowners and we understand that a significant number are opposed to intensive residential development.
- The two PDAs which were declared in Redland City by the LNP Government in 2013 (Toondah Harbour and Weinam Creek) have been spectacularly unsuccessful. These two PDAs were requested by Redland City Council and were supported by the Council.
- The scale of development proposed for the Southern Thornlands PDA has not been supported by Redland City Council.
- The Council opposed inclusion of this area in the urban footprint because enough land was already available for residential development and prolonged underinvestment in state infrastructure networks is already creating adverse outcomes for residents.
- It appears to Redlands2030 that the State Government’s planning for the Southern Thornlands PDA is based on inadequate investigation work.
- The State Government should make publicly available all reports which it has used to inform preparation of this Development Scheme.
The best outcome for Redlands would be for the State Government to revoke the Southern Thornlands PDA and let Redlands folk (represented by Redland City Council) decide what development should happen in Southern Thornlands.
Redlands does not need the Southern Thornlands PDA
The Government’s proposed Southern Thornlands PDA Development Scheme anticipates that this 890 hectares priority development area (PDA) will have 8,000 new homes accommodating 24,000 people.
It’s likely that most of these 24,000 people will not be from Redlands – instead they will be people migrating to Redland from elsewhere.
Natural increase (births minus deaths) was a very minor component of the population increase in Redlands in the year to 30 June 2025 adding just 171 people. This was less than 6% of Redlands’ total population increase for the year.
The largest component of Redland City’s population increase was Net Internal Migration (NIM) which added 1,600 people to Redland City’s population. NIM accounted for 55% of the city’s population increase in the year to 30 June 2025.
Net Overseas Migration (NOM) was the second largest component of Redland City’s population increase in the year to 30 June 2025, adding 1,120 people (39% of the total population increase).
The respective contributions of internal migration, overseas migration and natural increase have been fairly similar over the past three years.
Redland City’s birth rate, measured as the number of births per thousand people, continues to fall, declining from 10.5 in 2022 to 8.7 in 2025.
Small lot housing in the Southern Thornlands PDA
The State Government is proposing that the Southern Thornlands PDA will have a residential density of 25 dwellings per hectare.
After allowing for roads and other infrastructure, it’s likely that the average size of housing blocks will be less than 300 m2 and this will include many blocks sized around 100m2. These small lots will not have sufficient room for gardens with trees of significant size.
This will lead to ambient temperatures increasing in the Southern Thornlands PDA making life less comfortable for the people who live here. It will also require airconditioners to work harder, resulting in increased electricity usage. We need more trees, not less, to mitigate the impact of a warming planet on us all.
The proposed residential density of 25 dwellings per hectare should be reduced significantly so that there is less small lot development and more room for vegetation and wildlife.
Environmental harm to koalas and to Moreton Bay
The State Government claims without evidence or justification that:“The Southern Thornlands PDA will protect environmental values while supporting appropriate development that facilitates housing supply”.
The amount of residential and other development proposed by the State Government would destroy tens of thousands of trees, remove sections of a recognised ecological corridor and further fragment prime koala habitat. This is destruction of environmental values.
The Development Scheme should be revised to ensure that environmental corridors are wide enough to be fit for the purpose of allowing wildlife to move freely about the area.
Riparian corridors should be wider and particular consideration should be given to ensuring that the water quality of Moreton Bay will not be adversely impacted by sediment runoff from the Southern Thornlands PDA.
Road Infrastructure
It is likely that about 80 000 vehicle movements per day will result from the State Government’s proposal to have 8,000 dwellings accommodating 24,000 people in the Southern Thornlands PDA.
While the proposed Development Scheme includes some discussion of planned roadworks in the PDA, what’s lacking is planning (and funding commitments) for improvement of arterial roads throughout the Redlands and State roads linking Redlands to other areas (e.g. Logan, Brisbane, Gold Coast) where most of the new residents of working age will be employed.
Wastewater infrastructure
The capacity of existing sewage and wastewater treatment plants and disposal systems are a known constraint to development in the Southern Thornlands PDA.
It appears that the State Government is proposing to pipe the sewage and wastewater north to the existing Cleveland wastewater treatment plant but it’s not clear what happens next, and who will fund the necessary expansion and extension of these facilities.
Any plans which involve piping treated effluent into Moreton Bay should be the subject of detailed environmental assessment to ensure that there will be no adverse impacts on the Moreton Bay Ramsar site.
This investigation work should completed before any further development is allowed – unlike Shoreline where a 4,000 dwelling residential development was approved without a plan for wastewater and sewage disposal leading to the farcical situation where for several years wastewater and sewage was trucked elsewhere for treatment and disposal.
Other State Government Infrastructure
If the State Government is planning to have another 24,000 people living in the southern Thornlands PDA it should also explain its planning and funding for expansion of essential frontline State Government services such as hospitals and police.
What others say about the Southern Thornlands PDA
The views of the Koalas Action Group were published by Redlands2030 in Koalas threatened by Southern Thornlands development.
Redland City Council has a webpage with information about the Southern Thornlands PDA including a statement of the Council’s current policy position regarding the PDA.
Have your say about the Southern Thornlands PDA
You can have your say about the Southern Thornlands Development Scheme until 15 September 2026.
Written submissions about the Southern Thornlands PDA Development Scheme can be lodged to the Minister for Economic Development Queensland (MEDQ) by:
- Post: Economic Development Queensland, GPO Box 2202, Brisbane QLD 4001; or
- Email: contact@edq.qld.gov.au
Alternatively, comments and submissions can be made through an online submission portal.
Consider also sharing your thoughts with Mrs Rebecca Young who is the current State MP for Redlands. her email address is Redlands@parliament.qld.gov.au
Further environmental crime and a heinous disregard for Redland’s residents and tax & rate payers!!!
The Southern Thornlands PDA proposed development is detrimental to the Redlands. High density, small lot housing will come with high infrastructure costs. Wildlife will also be affected.
Sadly this shows lack of consideration for the environment and current residents of the Redlands.
It is shocking that the current government proposes plans that are profoundly contrary to the wishes of voters of the Redlands. The voters of the Redlands live here because of its natural beauty, both its flora and fauna and do not wish to see it destroyed. This proposal ignores the Redlands community of voters who are committed to live in and protect the natural area. Rethink your proposal and protect both the flora and fauna as you develop.
We have many underground springs here that feed into Hilliards creek and are vital to the wildlife in this habitat, and not just Koalas. The lagoons must not be filled in to create more land for any kind of development. The land between .Taylor and Mt Cotton Roads is natural bushland that acts as a buffer from Mt Cotton for smaller wildlife that cannot survive development on the scale proposed.
Rat running along Taylor road has increased, including heavy trucks and commercial vehicles . Traffic during peak times is a nightmare because of Sheldon College. Another school in Taylor Rd will only add to the nightmare. The proposed roads cutting into Taylor Road will not alleviate this problem, only cause more confusion.
Traffic to and from Victoria Point , Redland Bay , and Logan is suffocating the meagre infrastructure already in existence……Taylor Rd , Woodlands Drive, and Mt Cotton Road will only ever be veins and are incapable of becoming the arteries that this whole proposal is demanding.
Please dont treat us like ignorant country bumpkins. Most of us have lived in this area for many years and have seen the mistakes made by so called progress.
We moved to the Redlands from Brisbane for our Children to grow up in a. Beautiful area . We put them into Ormiston State School which had Koalas in their grounds . My Children were 5 and 1 yrs old then now are 31 and 34 yrs . We lived in Ormiston to be close to the school. We fought to have a Koala Corridor kept from Counihan Street along the full length of the old farm being sold and turned into housing . They wanted the sea views but we stopped the trees being cut down. The trees at Ormiston College should never have been allowed to be cut down. Koalas are like Strawberries were to this area. How many Strawberry farms are left in the Redlands now soon that will be the fate also of our koala population. Think Hard and Deep on these facts .