Walker Corporation withdraws application for controversial $1.3bn Toondah Harbour project

Walker Corporation has officially withdrawn its application to build 3600 units and overhaul Cleveland’s harbour, just a week after it was rejected by the Federal Environment Minister as an “unacceptable risk”.

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A development company which has waited for more than a decade to get approval for a $1.3 billion ferry terminal overhaul has withdrawn its application, a week after the federal government labelled the proposal as an environmental risk.

Walker Corporation withdrew its application to build 3600 units and overhaul Cleveland’s Toondah Harbour, ending more than 10 years of public scrutiny.

The decision to withdraw the application will allow Walker Corp and its project partners an opportunity to review the federal government’s proposed decision.

Walker Corporation chairman Lang Walker. Picture: Contributed

The developer will now consider if there are alternative options that would still allow vital infrastructure and housing to be delivered.

Along with Redland City Council and the Queensland Government, Walker Corp has been

on a long journey to deliver a world class vision for a revitalised Toondah Harbour.

The project grew over the years with plans to deliver housing, state infrastructure and public domain areas.

A Walker Corp spokesman said the company acknowledged and respected Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s proposed decision last week in which she said the project in its current form, did not provide the necessary protections for the environment.

An artist's impression of the proposed Toondah Harbour development. Picture: Supplied.

“We need an appropriate amount of time to understand and address those concerns, to satisfy the Government’s environmental requirements and to determine whether an alternative scheme would be viable for the project partners,” Walker Corporation said.

The spokesman said Walker Corp would not be making any further comment.

In announcing the decision last week, Ms Plibersek labelled the project as an “unacceptable impacts from a proposed development”.

Greens MP Michael Berkman welcomed the project’s canning.

“The problem is, the Ramsar Convention says you can’t do that unless it’s in the urgent national interest,” he said.

“And it was a bit tricky to argue that a private developer building 3600 luxury apartments and some shops right on top of critical habitat for threatened species was in the ‘urgent national interest’.

“We need a commitment from the Government now that they will not pursue any private development at this site.”

Originally published as Walker Corporation withdraws application for controversial $1.3bn Toondah Harbour project