THE future of the long-delayed Redlands Coast Regional Sport and Recreation Precinct at Heinemann Rd remains unclear despite a vote by Redland City Council to push ahead.
The Council paid $7.3 million in 2017 for the 159-hectare site at Mount Cotton.
However, the project has been stalled for years due to changes in federal environmental legislation under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
Deputy Mayor Julie Talty described the precinct as a critical investment to address a long-standing shortage of sporting fields in the city, particularly in the south.
Cr Talty said Council had faced repeated setbacks despite efforts to balance sporting development with environmental stewardship.
“We are being treated under a one-size-fits-all national policy that doesn’t fit our city, despite decades of protecting trees, koalas, and natural habitats,” she said.
During the debate, Mayor Jos Mitchell questioned the due diligence behind the land purchase and the escalating costs of complying with federal offset requirements.
“So, the crux of the matter is Council can’t find land and it’s a huge cost burden to deal with the offsets now?” she asked.
Cr Talty said the precinct plan, originally approved in 2020, met all state and federal requirements at the time.
“Federal rules changed and were backdated, forcing us to reassess multiple times,” she said.
“Under current EPBC definitions, we may need 150 hectares of offsets just to provide 14 football fields of sporting space.”
Council’s Advocacy, Major Projects and Economic Development general manager Chris Isles said federal rules were out of step with community projects, noting 26ha of cleared paddocks were deemed lost koala habitat despite surveys finding no koalas there.
Cr Talty said the precinct represented a “cornerstone investment in community infrastructure” for Redlands, providing formal facilities for touch football and rugby league, more than 800 car parks, and generous future play spaces.
“It’s about opening opportunities for other sporting groups across the city, giving them certainty to grow, and addressing a deficit of nearly 40 per cent in sporting facilities that has existed for over a decade,” she said.
Cr Jason Colley said the community could not afford more delays.
“The reality is that irrespective of past decisions, we’re in a holding pattern now,” he said.
“We don’t have any future plans outside of Heinemann Rd, and it’s our responsibility to do what we can to progress these plans, to do everything in our power to ensure that we aren’t turning children away from rugby league clubs, from soccer clubs, from basketball clubs – because that is the reality of this stalling.”
Cr Colley said he hoped the push would bring results.
“I’d like to think that within six months we will have some positive progress with the EPBC assessment, and we’ll be able to deliver the great news to our community that the Federal Government is willing to work with Council to deliver the important community infrastructure that our residents want,” he said.
