Proposed Springbrook Mudgeeraba Bus Service depot sparks anger among Mudgeeraba residents

Plans for a bus depot have pitted residents of a quiet hinterland area against a company owned by a well-known local family. Here’s why they’re so opposed.

A planning dispute has pitted residents of a quiet Mudgeeraba area against a respected Springbrook family.

Springbrook Mudgeeraba Bus Service, which is owned by the Kurz family and has provided school bus services to the area for decades, has applied to operate an eight-bus transport depot and caretakers’ accommodation at a site on the corner of Horseshoe Drive and Gold Coast Springbrook Rd.

The site was bought by Adam Burrows and Natalie Kurz – a director and shareholder in the firm – for $1,025,000 in February last year.

Neighbourhood spokesperson Phil Smith with residents angry about the proposal for a bus depot in their area. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

The proposal has sparked fury among residents who believe the development could harm local wildlife, result in noise and air pollution and create road-safety risks as buses access narrow Horseshoe Drive.

“To even consider approving this bus depot with its ugly towering structure, filthy air and noise pollution and incredibly dangerous situation on Springbrook Road is unthinkable,” Horseshoe Drive resident Les Woodford wrote in a submission to council.

“... Nobody in their right mind would want to live next door, or in close proximity to a bus depot.

“... Since we found out about this proposed bus depot, the worry and anguish over this has plagued our lives.”

Plans for a bus depot at the corner of Horseshoe Dr and Gold Coast Springbrook Rd in Mudgeeraba.

Jane Chant, a resident of nearby Little Nerang Rd, claimed residents were being asked to accept a bus depot for a service they did not benefit from.

“For 15 years I have driven my three children to school because there is no bus and now you want to put an ugly depot near my home that does not even service our area,” Ms Chant wrote.

“The irony is unbelievable that we would have a depot and still no bus service.”

Plans for the depot include left only access to the site from Gold Coast Springbrook Rd and a widening of the road where buses would turn right on to Horseshoe Drive.

However, objectors said that despite the proposed road improvements it would be difficult for buses to safely come and go from the depot.

“Horseshoe Drive is a narrow almost single lane road bitumen strip not kerbed or channelled that joins the busy Gold Coast Springbrook Rd at a difficult angle which under normal circumstances requires significant care from local residents when turning left towards Mudgeeraba and an extremely dangerous almost blind turn right if heading towards Springbrook,” resident Philip Smith wrote.

“... The right turn into Horseshoe Drive coming from Mudgeeraba is also problematic as cars /

trucks / motorbikes / recreational and training cyclists and other vehicles travel Gold Coast

Springbrook Rd at variable speeds between 20km/h to over 80km/h.”

Intersection changes proposed by applicants seeking to build a bus depot at the corner of Horseshoe Dr and Gold Coast Springbrook Rd in Mudgeeraba.

Intersection changes proposed by applicants seeking to build a bus depot at the corner of Horseshoe Dr and Gold Coast Springbrook Rd in Mudgeeraba.

A submission in favour of the proposal came from Austinville resident Tammy Boss, who said the bus service provided “has been an integral part of the community for decades”.

“A bus service from local schools to Austinville, Springbrook and surrounding areas is essential in the future,” she wrote.

In response to the residents’ objections, planning consultants working on behalf of Springbrook Mudgeeraba Bus Service said the proposed depot:

* Is of a scale and intensity “that will not detract from rural amenity”.

* Would be “more than adequately screened” from Gold Coast Springbrook Road.

* Would result in “negligible” air pollutants.

* Had been assessed for potential noise impacts, which were “found to be within acceptable limits”.

Division 9 councillor Glenn Tozer. Photograph: Jason O'Brien.

The consultants also said it was “not intended to provide full workshop, servicing, or washing facilities” at the depot, with the company’s primary depot to remain in Springbrook “where buses would return in the evenings”.

They also rejected suggestions that bus movements would cause traffic safety issues.

“The applicant has proposed intersection improvements that, along with the limited number of bus movements proposed, will ensure traffic safety is not compromised,” they wrote.

Division 9 councillor Glenn Tozer said he had requested the application go before Planning Committee next month.

“The idea of a transport depot use in the rural zone is deemed under the City Plan as generally acceptable,” Cr Tozer said.

“But in spite of that I have asked for it to come to committee with a full report so the community can have a transparent look at the matter.”

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Originally published as Proposed Springbrook Mudgeeraba Bus Service depot sparks anger among Mudgeeraba residents