Train line delays $18m Ripley shopping and residential complex

A two-year delay in designs for a passenger train line has railroaded plans for an $18 million residential and retail precinct west of Brisbane.

Kooralbyn Valley Golf Course’s Peter Huang has canned plans to develop a block of land at Ripley and instead has put the 26 hectares on the market for $18m.

A two-year delay in designs for a passenger train line has railroaded plans for one of the state’s largest residential and retail precincts.

Property developer Peter Huang has been forced to ditch his dream of turning three blocks of land into a super shopping centre complete with a department store and up to 178 house lots.

Mr Huang’s family company JHC Holdings Pty Ltd has been waiting two years to develop the Ipswich site after unsuccessfully lodging plans for the three blocks on Binnies Rd at Ripley in April 2018.

A map showing Peter Huang’s proposed shopping and residential centre site at Ripley.

Mr Huang said it was disappointing he was unable to get Ipswich council approval to develop the 26 hectare site without details of the state government’s Springfield rail line extension.

The exasperated property developer, known for his Kooralbyn Valley Golf Course, said he could not wait any longer for the state government to reveal the rail line corridor and put the land up for sale for $18 million.

Ipswich City Council issued an information request in June 2018 given significant concerns with a number of aspects relating to the proposal.

“While the alignment of the Ipswich to Springfield rail corridor was an important issue for the applicant to overcome with the State Government, council had also raised a number of other concerns with the applicant in relation to their plan amendments, engineering details (particularly in relation to traffic, earthworks, stormwater, sewer and water), environmental concerns (specifically acoustics and vegetation retention) and open space requirements,” the council said.

“Unfortunately, the applicant did not respond to council’s information request in the required timeframe and therefore council had no option but to refuse the development application as there was insufficient information available to support the proposal.”

“The development application was not refused — we just could not proceed any further because the state government could not finish the rail design,” Mr Huang said.

“That meant we could not complete our development application which was contingent on those state rail designs because we did not have that necessary information.

“The train line is coming through my land and details of the width, height or depth of the train line is still unknown as the plans have not been drawn up yet.

“But all the hard work has been done for the development and the buyer will be able to re-lodge our application to the council.”

The state government’s Economic Development Queensland told Mr Huang the rail line plans would be revealed “soon” and the delay was due to staff working from home during the pandemic.

The site is zoned for an “urban core” town centre, one of three designed for Ripley, which is expected to grow to the size of Townsville.

The development site at Ripley, near the town centre and a proposed train line extension.

Along with a super shopping centre complex and residential and townhouse development, the land can also be used for an over-50s independent residential complex.

Ipswich council told Mr Huang he had tentative support for his preliminary proposals but could not grant development approval as the application was incomplete.

The Main Roads Department will also determine the road structure for the area which will eventually include a new train station on Binnies Rd, opposite the parcel of land.

Preliminary plans for the site are for 12,990 sqm of retail or commercial space and 392 over-50s independent living, town houses or units with designs also for a residential subdivision for house and land packages.

The proposed Ripley train station is expected to be built on the boundary of the development.