Huge industrial expansion planned for Swanbank site despite past asbestos, groundwater concerns

A major industrial expansion is in the works for a Swanbank site — which previously had problems with asbestos-affected fill, groundwater contamination and spontaneous combustion of coal waste — after a report found environmental concerns should not preclude future development.

A Brisbane developer is proposing a massive industrial development at Swanbank after a report concluded none of the environmental issues identified would “preclude future suitability of the site for industrial use”.

BrisWest Holdings Pty Ltd submitted a development application on August 31 for the project at 1 Newhill Drive, covering Precinct 3 of the greater BrisWest Industrial Estate which forms part of the Swanbank Enterprise Park Area.

The area caters to large scale industries including manufacturing, large scale warehouses and other general industries.

The town planning report, prepared by Planning Initiative, said the “Swanbank, New Chum area was potentially a major contributor to employment and economic development within Ipswich City, southeast Queensland and the state as a whole.”

“The development will facilitate industrial use, which will provide employment opportunities and create a workforce which will support the nearby centres.”

BrisWest plans to split the affected 14.5ha Precinct 3 area into five lots and build a new access road.

The planning report said the development was “intended to accommodate very large scale warehouse and logistics uses as the site is uniquely placed to provide a highly accessible location with large lots to suit those uses”.

Environmental Earth Sciences Queensland (EES) conducted an environmental assessment of the area in 2020 which “identified a number of issues relating to environmental conditions on site which would need to be addressed during the site development process”.

The issues were mainly linked to the site’s past mining use and included asbestos-affected fill, groundwater contamination and past issues with spontaneous combustion of coal wastes after a bushfire in 2018.

A portion of the development area was also identified as Core Koala Habitat Area on state mapping. But due to existing development approvals, BrisWest Holdings had already cleared the relevant vegetation.

The Swanbank area has also been associated with ongoing odour issues, which have drawn increasing concern since the February floods.

The town planning report also said any mining and rehabilitation works “will be carried out in accordance with previously identified requirements under supervision of a geotechnical engineer”.

“As the proposal is only for reconfiguring the land, any future construction requirements will be a matter for future development proposals,” it said.

The other precincts are at varying stages of approval, with Precinct 6 being granted approval on May 27.

Precinct 3 is still in the initial application review period and awaiting council approval.