Council deal seals land for community

It’s been a decade in the making. A Redland City Council deal announced today will see Commonwealth land at Birkdale preserved for environment and community use.

Bowman MP Andrew Laming and Redland City councillors at the Birkdale Commonwealth land this morning for the announcement the land has been purchased for $4.1m. Pic Redland City Council.

Aboriginal and European cultural heritage sites on Commonwealth land at Birkdale will be protected in a landmark deal that has secured the significant site for the Redlands Coast.

The deal, announced this morning by Redland City Mayor Karen Williams, will see more than 70 percent of the 61.78 hectare site at Birkdale preserved for conservation purposes.

The remaining land is zoned for community use.

In another win for community, Cr Williams said Council would ensure the significant Aboriginal cultural sites would be protected.

She said the site “also contains European heritage and indigenous heritage cultural sites that Council will ensure are protected”.

The $4.1m purchase of the land at 362-388 Old Cleveland Road East is the culmination of negotiations with the Federal Government dating back to 2009.

Cr Williams said the “heads of agreement” signed with the Australian Government to buy the land was a binding agreement and a “major step towards the land purchase.

“We will now complete due diligence and settle the purchase before consulting widely with the community on what they believe to be the best use or uses for the site,” Cr Williams said.

A major deal between the Commonwealth Government and Redland City Council will see land at Birkdale handed over to the community.

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Last month Bowman MP Andrew Laming announced the land was being considered for the repositioning of the Alma Park Zoo.

Ahead of the announcement today Mr Laming said the land was “a jewel in the crown for Redlands”.

“Optimising this land for Redlands is a community decision, positive ideas are welcome and I am confident that Redland City Council can do the rest,” Mr Laming said.

“I am sure all koala habitats will be protected. The cleared areas offer the potential under current zoning to support fauna, revegetation, parkland, walkways, a visitor’s centre, education, high end tourism and the heritage of this site showcased.”

“This divestment represents incredible value for Redland community.”

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Redland City Council Mayor Karen Williams delivered a petition from community to Prime Minister Scott Morrison regarding the Birkdale land.

Cr Williams said the size of the land and “broad opportunities it provides for our community” had been key reasons Council had resolved four years ago to seek formally to acquire the land.

“This is a strategic purchase, as the site is large, ideally located and suitable for community purposes.”

“Discussions over many years have included using the land for education, a university, recreation, sporting facilities and environmental reserves.”

Cr Williams said the site was the latest “significant strategic purchase of land by Council that will benefit generations of Redlands Coast residents”.

“I have lobbied the Prime Minister, presented a petition to the PM and spoken many times to Coalition and Labor politicians and bureaucrats in Canberra, telling them just how important it is that Council acquire the land and for it to be used for conservation and community purposes,” Cr Williams said.

“We are now just a step away from settling the sale and I would like to sincerely thank the Federal Government on behalf of our Redlands Coast community for agreeing to sell to us.”

Cr Williams said the off-market sale included a Security of Purpose condition and a Conservation Agreement in line with the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Cwlth) Act 1999.

“The conservation agreement is for the conservation and management of the flora and fauna within the existing zoned conservation areas and for heritage assets (Aboriginal and European) on the land,” she said.

Bowman MP Andrew Laming and Redland City Mayor Karen Williams at the announcement in Birkdale this morning. Pic. Redland City Council

The Birkdale land

• The land falls away from its Old Cleveland Road frontage towards a tidal section of Tingalpa Creek along the southern western property boundary.
• The site is predominantly covered by dense woodland with some cleared areas in the centre of the site.
• The 61.78ha site comprises 72.48 per cent protected conservation area and a cleared area of 17ha of usable land available for community purposes.
• It was previously used by the Federal Government’s Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) for radio communications infrastructure.
• Historically, it includes a building constructed by the American Army Corp and used to house a US Army Radio Receiving Station during WWII.
• The radio station is believed to have received the first message in Australia in August 1945 that the Japanese had surrendered and was used by General MacArthur while he was in Australia.
• The land also includes known Aboriginal cultural heritage sites.
• The land borders one of Redlands Coast’s waterways, Tingalpa Creek, and historic Willard’s Farm, which Council purchased to maintain its heritage values in 2016.

Source: Redland City Council.