New $6m design revealed for Deception Bay SES Operations Centre

A SES unit named Queensland’s best continues to work out of a dilapidated depot, with the Mayor calling on the State Government to fund a new centre the unit deserves.

City of Moreton Bay has proposed the Deception Bay SES Depot and Emergency Operations Centre redevelopment, which would aim to transform the depot into a nation leading and one-of-a-kind facility. Picture: Contributed

A Brisbane council has revealed designs for a new $6 million Operations Centre for one of its local SES units, which has been forced to operate in a poor quality shed, despite being awarded the title of Queensland’s top SES unit.

City of Moreton Bay on Thursday called for a critical funding injection into the Deception Bay SES Depot and Emergency Operations Centre to support the rapidly growing city.

The current Deception Bay SES depot. Picture: Contributed

The current community-built facility, located on Old Bay Road, faces barriers to its daily operations including storage issues, recruitment constraints and outdated facilities and it no longer meets operational or training demands for the city.

Mayor Peter Flannery said the dire state of the 1985 ‘shed’ was a blight on the otherwise outstanding performance of the award-winning local SES which has to service a council area that is the third largest in Australia.

City of Moreton Bay has proposed the Deception Bay SES Depot and Emergency Operations Centre redevelopment, which would aim to transform the depot into a nation-leading and one-of-a-kind facility which includes:

· Creation of a modern, purpose-built training facility, enabling training in high risk activities.

· 9-bay vehicle garage including three double-depth drive-through bays.

· New shared expanded carpark with the Dragons Football Club.

· Accommodation and support services.

· Regeneration of koala habitat.

City of Moreton Bay has already committed over $300,000 in design and development costs for the Deception Bay depot redevelopment, now calling for the State Government to commit to 50/50 for the $6 million build.

Last year, the Deception Bay SES unit was awarded the Commissioner’s Cup for SES Unit of the Year, for their exceptional work during the 2022 floods and for supporting hundreds of people during missing persons searches and other emergencies.

This week, Moreton Bay SES Group won 2024 Unit/Group of the Year at the SES Week State Award Ceremony.

Despite the resounding success in a dilapidated facility, Mayor Flannery was disappointed the State won’t meet them in a 50/50 funding commitment for a new Deception Bay depot, with council allocating $3.75 million to the redevelopment in the 2024-25 budget.

“The Deception Bay SES Group is in the top two percent of busiest SES groups in Queensland and the City has had a 182 per cent increase in SES service requests over the year, yet they are working from a poor quality shed - the City of Moreton Bay should matter more,” Mr Flannery said.

“This facility supports over 80,000 residents in the immediate area in addition to being a base for deployments across the City and Queensland when disaster strikes our community.

“Last year alone, the Deception Bay SES Group directly answered more than 250 requests for assistance in their primary response area as well as working across three large scale weather events locally resulting in over 500 requests for assistance from Moreton Bay residents, including the flooding at the beginning of 2024.

The new depot would be a modern, purpose-built training facility, enabling training in high risk activities. Picture: Contributed

“As we move into severe weather season, and on the back of climate change and the relentless pace of emergencies and disasters such as the severe flooding and storm events we experienced earlier in the year, this is now desperate.”

The Deception Bay SES Group is part of the broader Moreton Bay SES Group with a cohort of more than 270 volunteers.

City of Moreton Bay has already committed over $300,000 in design and development costs for the Deception Bay depot redevelopment, plus annually, Council continues to commit over $650,000 of SES operational expenditure.

“Across City of Moreton Bay, the SES Group has managed approximately 25 large scale events in the last five years,” Mr Flannery said.

“The team are doing extraordinary things but capital funding investment by the State is needed so they can continue to ably support our community.

“Per capita, City of Moreton Bay is the most significant supporter of SES in Queensland.

“We need the political parties to step up and support this team of critical volunteers with an ongoing financial commitment.”