Push to build new westside high school on shopping centre site

Calls for a new high school in a neglected pocket of Brisbane’s westside have gained momentum after a proposal to demolish a near-vacant shopping centre. Here’s the plan.

Brisbane’s next high school could be built on the site of the near-deserted Bellbowrie Shopping Plaza if a new push gains traction.

The centre has been largely empty since anchor tenant Coles moved out and opened in a new complex at Moggill earlier this year.

Smaller tenants, including a family bakery which closed in June after 29 years, shut up shop after the move, leaving only a chemist, cafe, florist, medical practice, fruit shop and a few other small retailers.

The centre owner is believed to be in negotiations with IGA, but so far no confirmation of a replacement for Coles has been confirmed.

Deserted. Bellbowrie Plaza last Friday lunchtime.

But a radical proposal could one day see the centre resumed and demolished to make way for a high school, library and transit hub.

Greens candidate for the local federal seat, Elizabeth Watson-Brown, said the idea came up repeatedly during doorknocking of the area.

Dr Watson-Brown, a leading former architect who worked on St Sebastians Catholic Primary School at Yeronga and other commercial projects, said the site was ideally co-located with facilities such as the Bellbowrie Council pool.

She said demolition costs would be relatively low as, being a newer structure, it was not likely to contain asbestos.

She said it could be built on pilotis (stumps) at a reasonable cost, to address the flood risk.

In 2011 the shopping centre was closed for weeks after extensive flood damage.

Ms Watson-Brown has started a petition about creating public services, including a high school, at the shopping centre site.

Bellbowrie Shopping Plaza in the 2011 floods.

A Facebook page set up about the issue has also generated a strong response.

Juliette Edwards posted: “There have been multiple groups/folks calling for a true community centre here. We are constantly (told) that there are facilities at Kenmore. Kenmore is 10-15km away depending on where you live here ... about the same distance to the city.’’

Maria Miller posted: “A community hub makes sense.’’

Philip Blackler wrote: “Needs to allow for the fact it is in a flood zone (the reason Coles has moved).’’

Ms Watson-Brown said a major advantage of building a school in Bellbowrie — an idea long advocated by other political candidates and also Shadow Education Minister Dr Christian Rowan — was that it would alleviate traffic on congested Moggill Rd.

“It would take pressure off Moggill Rd by creating a counterflow of traffic, redirecting it in the opposite direction,’' she said.

At the moment the closest school is Kenmore State High School.

The space occupied by Coles could be taken by IGA, some locals believe.

Kenmore is also a hub for many services, forcing residents in Bellbowrie, Moggill, Mount Crosby, Anstead, Kholo and Karana Downs to use Moggill Rd.

Moggill Rd is the only arterial road west of Indooroopilly for tens of thousands of residents, and was recently named by the RACQ as Brisbane’s slowest corridor in afternoon traffic and the fourth slowest in the morning.

“Residents in the Bellbowrie area are frustrated by the lack of public services. They’ve been neglected,” Ms Watson-Brown said.

“Speaking as an architect and urbanist, designing attractive and floodproof facilities that really serve the area’s residents is absolutely possible on the old Bellbowrie Shopping Plaza site.

“A local high school for Moggill and Bellbowrie wouldn’t only benefit local families.

“It could allow Kenmore High School to take pressure off Indooroopilly, which is 800 students over its nominal capacity”.

The state and federal government have allocated $25 million to upgrade the Kenmore roundabout and $183 million for the Indooroopilly roundabout, but she said building a school and other services at Bellbowrie was a better option than “tweaking’’ roads.

“A proper public transport transit bridge is what’s needed in the west. Some residents favour a road connection, but we’d like to see a new public transport route properly explored — perhaps light rail or a busway via Riverhills to Darra railway station for a reliable commuting option,” Ms Watson-Brown said.

However, Council dropped plans for its fifth green (cycle and pedestrian) bridge earlier this year, which would have connected Bellbowrie to Wacol, after significant local opposition.

Elizabeth Watson-Brown.