Skyline has reached limit with Icon tower

THE Ipswich city skyline will not become a replica of the skyscraper-dotted Brisbane CBD. It has reached its peak – at least for the foreseeable future.

GOING UP: Construction of the Icon Ipswich tower is due for completion in late August. Picture: Contributed

AS IPSWICH becomes acquainted with the new heights of the CBD, workers will have to get used to Icon Ipswich standing as the city's tallest building for the foreseeable future.

It's not because Ipswich cannot attract property developers to build towering skyscrapers like the ones in Brisbane.

The reason is closer to home than you think.

Ipswich City Council enforces building height restrictions because of the close proximity of the Amberley RAAF base, 8km from the CBD.

Tower one of the Icon Ipswich development stands at nine storeys, and it is unlikely Ipswich will see a structure stretch into double figures.

Within council planning provisions are the RAAF Base Amberley Defence Area Control Regulations and Obstruction Clearance Surfaces, which governs the height of developments.

The restrictions cover an area from Redbank Plains in the east, Lanefield in the west, Kholo in the north to Peak Crossing in the south.

Structures in the Ipswich CBD can not stand taller than 45m above natural ground.

Ipswich City Properties chairman Paul Tully said it was unlikely Icon Ipswich would have been built any higher even if the restrictions were not in place.

He said the restrictions were taken into account when planning the CBD redevelopment.

"There are restrictions because of Amberley and we have put that into our planning scheme," he said.

"That particular development was getting to the limit of what was going to be proposed in terms of taking it to market requirements."

Cr Tully said Denmark Hill remained the highest point in the city.

The height controls of buildings and structures over a large part of the Ipswich Local Government Area range from 7.5 to 15, 45 and 90 metres above natural ground.

Military aircraft soar over the CBD on a daily basis.

The building is due to be completed in late August as the first stage of the CBD redevelopment project.

The Queensland Government begins the 15-year lease of Icon Ipswich on October 1.

Hutchinson Builders are putting the finishes touches on the lower floors as the construction nears completion. Around 3500 uniformed and civilian personal are employed at the airbase.