The federal environment department must fast track its assessment of the Redlands Coast Regional Sport and Recreation Precinct planned for Mount Cotton.
Prioritising this development is in the public’s best interest given the well-documented 75-hecatre shortfall of sporting land identified in council’s Open Space strategy.
The Heinemann Road hub is expected to significantly reduce the deficit by unlocking land for rugby league, touch football, BMX and cycling.
It will include 16 sports fields, a criterium track, BMX facility and clubhouses, while the remaining 70 hectares will remain “untouched” or receive “minimal improvements”.
The shortfall of sporing land and forecast population growth was an essential component of the precinct’s master plan which, as an important aside, councillors adopted unanimously in 2020.
Since then opponents have criticised the hub’s cost (and fairly so given the significant increase) as well as its environmental credentials and positioning in southern Redlands.
But the question must be asked – if not at Heinemann Rd, where in Redlands could a sports precinct of a similar size be located?
And that is exactly what the federal government must consider during its EPBC assessment.
Turning down the Mount Cotton proposal would set a dangerous precedent and rule out a number of other sites across the city.
Environmental concerns must always be taken seriously but this is not a high-rise unit development or an upmarket shopping centre.
This is a project that will benefit thousands of residents over several decades and help Redlands sporting clubs expand as the city grows.
Council has already committed to maintaining 70 per cent of the site, or 112 hectares, as conservation land.
That is a considerable allocation given, as council points out, the land could have been snapped up for “housing or other extensive development”.
Turning the site into a community asset is undoubtedly the better outcome.
This masthead has heard from several Redlands sporting clubs who are experiencing rapid growth and urgently seeking government support to accommodate more participants.
How will these clubs cope without the space they need to expand as more people – particularly young families – make Redland Bay and Mount Cotton their home?
It is ludicrous that at the same time as the city is experiencing considerable population growth, more than $4.5m in state funding earmarked for the Heinemann Rd hub will need to be reallocated.
The state and federal government are on the verge of delivering a Brisbane 2032 Legacy Plan which will outline how the city can best take advantage of hosting the Olympics and Paralympics.
Several legacy themes have already been identified during stakeholder engagement and consultation exercises earlier this year, including a push to promote “sport, health and social inclusion”.
Heinemann Rd shapes as a golden opportunity to start making that vision a reality.
Any push for “health and social inclusion” should be welcomed in this sporting mad state of ours.
