Top girls’ school reveals designs for sports complex on old Toowong potato chip factory

Westside locals say they are skeptical about claims by a top girls’ school that flooding will not be worsened by its new sports complex.

Toowong’s Stuartholme School has submitted new flood and lighting reports which claim a proposed sports precinct will not worsen flood problems or affect rare wildlife.

The top Catholic girls’ school announced in October last year that it wanted to build

a training precinct at its Freers Farm property, once the site of the Freers potato chip factory.

It would include sporting fields, multipurpose courts and associated floodlighting.

A sports facility housed in an existing warehouse would feature a gymnasium, rowing facilities, classrooms and amenities.

How the sports precinct could look.

Designs revealed by Stuartholme included a new pedestrian bridge over Ithaca Creek, which flows down from nearby Mt Coot-tha.

The chip factory building would be extended to include a cafe, with the additions on stilts for better flood resilience.

Fencing would be made up of bollards, with netting, to allow flood water to flow through.

There would be warning signs, with private users such as sports clubs warned of the need to evacuate in large rain events.

The school was contacted for comment.

How the sports precinct could look.

View from the extensions ot the Freers building.

There have been several public meetings since the plans were revealed last year, with local politicians, school representatives and its planning experts attending.

Public submissions closed in May.

The revised flood plan, lodged last month, said a hockey field would be lowered about 50cm, which would lessen flooding in Ithaca Creek.

Lighting would be shielded, away from houses and turned off from 10pm to 6am.

The school has applied for approval through the Ministerial Infrastructure Designation process, a state process which bypasses Council approval.

How the revamped potato chip building could look.

The hockey field.

But neighbours said the revised flood were merely computer models and did not reflect their lived experience of how high and how quickly water levels could rise.

Freers Farm Action Group leader Steph Walker posted that a new lighting/ecology report uploaded last month conceded fauna surveys were conducted on just one winter’s day.

“Woodland Environmental, who provided the original 300-page ecological report (in September, 2021) stated that the site was of low ecological significance and did not contain any threatened species or habitat,’’ she wrote.

“In order to do the (new, revised) lighting report Woodland undertook a single night survey of the site.

How the precinct could look.

Stuartholme says its plans will not harm the environment.

“In the course of this one-night survey they identified at least three species (powerful owl, tusked frog, grey-headed flying fox) which are on the endangered creatures lists.

“They are not willing to say if the proposed lighting will adversely impact these creatures or not.’’

The revised Woodland report also said there was evidence of 27 koalas nearby.

An action group member posted that the site was very dark at night and said they were concerned that even if floodlights were turned off at 10pm, fauna could be affected.

Consultants Bligh Tanner said its revised flood model was based on Council’s Breakfast Creek Flood Study and “finetuned to incorporate a detailed site survey and reflect the

existing (potato chip factory) building’’.

It took into account the January 1974, April 1989, May 1996, May 2009 and

January 2013 flood events — verified against the May 1996 flood.

Freers Farm Action Group uploaded this photo at the site, taken last month, showing how dark it is at night.

“The proposed open drain has been designed to match the capacity of the existing drain,’’ it said.

“This ensures that run-off is not conveyed in a more concentrated manner towards the creek. “Upsizing the open drain would result in more concentrated flows at its outlet, increasing the likelihood of creek bank erosion and adverse flood impacts at adjacent residences.’’

It said the earthworks level of the northern field had been lowered 0.5m, even though its superseded design showed “no actionable nuisance to adjoining properties’’.

“A net additional 3403 sqm of material will be removed from the site,’’ it said.

“This results in additional flood storage capacity within the creek corridor during an extreme flood event.’’

SEE MORE DETAILS OF THE SPORTS PRECINCT PLAN HERE

Bligh Tanner also said the precinct would be mainly used by the school, not the public, and was likely not to be in use during a flood.

However, warning signs and evacuation routes would be placed at all entrances to the site, the building, the carpark entrance and lower section of the carpark.