Calls for Mt Coot-tha zipline plans to be put on hold for quarry masterplan

SHOULD zipline plans for Mt Coot-tha be put on hold so its funding can be used to make a masterplan to close Mt Coot-tha Quarry instead?

The view of Brisbane from Mt Coot-tha. Picture: Tara Croser

ZIPLINE plans for Mt Coot-tha should be put on hold and its funding redirected to create a masterplan to close and rehabilitate the Mt Coot-tha Quarry, a former Brisbane City Council candidate says.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk committed $1.8 million to his election promise of a zipline as part of a wider $15 million investment in tourism and leisure infrastructure for the mountain.

Jeff Eelkema, who ran as the Labor Party candidate for the Paddington Ward in the 2015 election, said the money earmarked for the zipline­ should go into a masterplan to close and rehabilitate­ the quarry.

“In its current guise I can’t see how we’re ever going to have a world-class tourist destination when you’ve got a quarry blasting a couple of times a week,” he said.

“The council is ignoring the fact that we’ve got a major hole in the ground, a major eyesore,” he said.

He said there were opportunities to convert the council-owned gravel quarry into gardens, car parking, and even the site for a zipline in the future.

A Brisbane City Council spokeswoman said the quarry conducted a maximum two blasts per month, although­ anti-quarry activist Phil Best insisted it was two a week.

The council spokeswoman said the quarry was a vital resource to build and maintain the city’s roads and there was no date for its closure.

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Funds committed to the Mt Coot-tha Precinct in the 2017/18 Brisbane City Council Budget include:

■ $1.8 million over three years to the zip line plan

■ $5.5 million to upgrade walking trails and picnic areas over the next four years

■ $1.1 million to link the gardens and Toowong

RELATED: Brisbane City Council Budget highlights