A large area of Mount Cotton could be investigated for future employment, tourism and recreation uses under a notice of motion to be considered by Redland City Council next week.
Councillor Rowanne McKenzie is seeking council support to ask the Queensland Government to investigate land in the Mount Cotton area for possible inclusion in the South East Queensland Regional Plan’s Urban Footprint during the current regional plan review.
The proposal stops short of supporting residential expansion, with the motion specifically stating the land should not be used for suburban-scale housing development.
Instead, Cr McKenzie argues the area should be considered for employment-generating industries, tourism ventures and sport and recreation facilities as Redland City seeks to diversify its economy and reduce its reliance on residential rates.
If adopted, council would write to Deputy Premier and Planning Minister Jarrod Bleijie advising it provides in-principle support for investigating the identified area, subject to several conditions.
These include requirements that any land incorporated into the Urban Footprint be contiguous, large enough to support viable development, and assessed by the State Government against regional planning principles before any future development occurs.
The motion also highlights significant infrastructure constraints, noting the area is currently not serviced by sewer infrastructure.
Under the proposal, any future investigation would need to resolve wastewater treatment and discharge issues before the land could be considered suitable for urban development.
Cr McKenzie is also seeking assurances that future developers would bear the full cost of infrastructure required to service the area, including external network impacts, rather than existing ratepayers.
In supporting material accompanying the motion, Cr McKenzie argues South East Queensland is facing a growing shortage of industrial and employment land, with recent analysis suggesting Greater Brisbane’s industrial land supply could be exhausted within five years.
She contends Redland City is well positioned to help address part of that shortfall while strengthening its own economic base.
According to the motion’s background report, about 90 per cent of council’s rate revenue currently comes from residential properties, while more than half of Redland City’s workforce travels outside the local government area each day for employment.
Cr McKenzie says these factors limit the city’s economic resilience and place an increasing burden on households to fund services and infrastructure.
The motion argues that increasing commercial, industrial and tourism land uses would diversify council’s revenue base, create more local jobs and reduce the need for residents to commute to employment centres elsewhere in South East Queensland.
The proposal comes as the Queensland Government undertakes a review of the South East Queensland Regional Plan, which will guide future growth and development across the region.
Cr McKenzie’s motion will be debated at Redland City Council’s general meeting on June 17.
