Big turnout tipped for UQ master plan meeting

THE University of Queensland’s plans to expand its footprint are on the agenda at a public meeting this afternoon, including plans for buildings up to eight storeys high at some of its sites.

Residents Ron and Sheila Morgan are worried they could lose part of Guyatt Park under plans by the University of Queensland to build a bridge over it to West End. UQ’s expansion plans are up for discussion at a public meeting today. Photo: Claudia Baxter

CONTROVERSIAL plans by the University of Queensland to expand its footprint into St Lucia are top of the agenda at a public meeting this afternoon.

A large turnout is expected for the St Lucia Community Association meeting, at Ironside State School from 2-4pm, November 10.

Council’s recent decision to block a deeply unpopular childcare centre next to ironside State School will also be discussed.

Controversial expansion plans for UQ were to be discussed Saturday afternoon.

The SLCA has invited residents to hear debate on the university’s expansion plans.

The UQ Senate endorsed its Community Infrastructure Designation (CID) earlier this year, which includes controversial elements such as buildings up to six storeys at the Avalon precinct, and up to eight storeys at sites owned by the university at Long Pocket and Hawken Drive.

It agreed to revisit a bridge from Guyatt Park, St Lucia, to West End.

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The CID forms part of a larger Site Development Plan.

The SLCA said the meeting, at Ironside State School from 2-4pm, would discuss why “UQ has apparently ignored the local community’s key submissions made during their so-called consultations’’ and why three new or extended CIDs were still a core part of its final campus master plan.

The university’s proposal for a cross-campus, high-frequency bus service to/from Indooroopilly and Toowong would also be canvassed at the meeting.

State Greens MP for Maiwar, Michael Berkman, meanwhile lodged a submission on the SDP with the university in which he expressed his concerns about the proposed expansion.

“There is a long history of engagement between members of the local community and the university around master planning, and now the SDP, and there is very strong sentiment in the community about the adequacy and outcomes of community consultation,’’ Mr Berkman said.

“There is broad concern among those residents most engaged with these issues that the consultation, both in composition of the Community Reference Group and in outcomes,

has been skewed against the interests of the local community.

UQ Master Plan

“Additionally, while I recognise the role of the SDP is to provide a relatively specific plan for development of the campus, and one necessarily more limited in scope than the vision presented by the UQ Master Plan, the SDP leaves unresolved a number of issues that were of particular concern throughout the development of the Master Plan.

“One key information gap is the projected number of students, and many have expressed the view that this is fundamental to understanding the potential impacts of the development proposed by the SDP.

“I understand that earlier consultation on the draft Master Plan indicated student numbers were expected to increase by around 10,000, yet there is no comparable estimate provided in the final Master Plan or as a basis for the draft SDP.

“While I understand it is difficult to present this kind of forecast with precision, without indicative figures of the University’s anticipated growth in student numbers it is difficult to consider how traffic, congestion and infrastructure will be impacted.

“Similarly, while I understand based on conversations with UQ Properties and Facilities that the University has no current intention of expanding the Community Infrastructure Designation (CID) along Hawken Drive or at Long Pocket, this remains an issue of great concern in the local community.

“Whether or not it is a necessary component of the SPD, it would no doubt allay concern for this position to be restated in every available forum and planning document.

“If at any stage the university decides it will again pursue expansion of the CID, I anticipate this will precipitate equally vocal community opposition as it has previously.’’

Traffic congestion and public transport planning

“It is unclear what traffic studies, if any, underpin the SDP and so it is not possible to consider their adequacy,’’ Mr Berkman wrote in his submission.

“Comprehensive and long-term traffic planning is imperative if the pervasive traffic and transport concerns around UQ are to be addressed.

“The traffic issues in St Lucia, and particularly on Sir Fred Schonell Dr, are not new, and I acknowledge that UQ requires Local and State Governments to contribute to the solutions by way of improved public transport and active transport infrastructure.

“Broadly speaking, my priority is ensuring that all suburbs in the inner west are well serviced by cheap, regular, efficient and reliable public transport.

“My view is that St Lucia’s traffic problems can only be solved by getting people out of their cars and encouraging more use of active and public transport.

“I want to reiterate the concerns raised by a number of locals about the impacts of increased bus frequency along Hawken Drive, and I encourage you to work with BCC and TransLink to find solutions that will improve public transport services in close consultation with the St Lucia community.

Guyatt Park bridge

“I strongly support a new pedestrian and cycling bridge from the westside to West End and will continue to advocate for that at every opportunity,’’ Mr Berkman wrote in his submission to UQ.

“I agree with the overwhelming community feedback in opposition to the university’s original proposal for the bridge to be built in Guyatt Park.

“Given the infrastructure footprint, my view is that a bus bridge would be almost impossible to build in an acceptable format, especially given similar concerns about the loss of space in Orleigh Park in West End.’’