Council urged to acquire koala habitat earmarked for development

Bridgeman Downs residents are calling on Brisbane City Council to acquire core koala habitat, after the state government directed developers to resubmit residential plans on the grounds their proposal did not adequately consider local wildlife and vegetation.

Urban planning group DTS submitted a development application for 14 lots, averaging between 474 and 368 square metres, at 440 Beckett Road in Bridgeman Downs in 2023.

An ecology report conducted the same year found the site supports a Core Koala Habitat Area and contains locally significant vegetation, but the development would be exempt from state laws under local planning regulations.

Head petitioner Lucille Hopkins (right) and Brisbane Labor’s environment spokesman Steve Griffiths (left) discuss the Beckett Road development proposal.Credit: Catherine Strohfeldt

It suggested mitigating the risk to wildlife through the development of a fauna overpass – similar to one installed across Hamilton Road in Chermside – and a broader corridor of retained vegetation.

Council approved the development in December last year, but documentation issued by the State Assessment and Referral Agency in March this year said the application was not exempted from state planning regulations, and required further consideration for koala habitat.

“The proposed subdivision layout and road location introduces fragmentation, reduces connectivity and introduces impediments to safe koala movement,” the letter read.

“Alternative measures have not been provided to mitigate the risks to koala safety posed by the road (e.g. koala awareness signage, traffic-calming devices, koala crossing infrastructure, etc).”

An amended rehabilitation management plan was submitted by the developer last month.

Head petitioner and Bridgeman Downs local Lucille Hopkins said the land represented one of the last green spaces left in the area and was home to a range of native species.

“We get rock wallabies, birds and sugar gliders – everything – through there,” she said.

The site of a proposed 14-lot development at 440 Beckett Road in Bridgeman Downs.Credit: Catherine Strohfeldt

While the plight of flora and fauna has become the focal point of their fight, Hopkins doesn’t believe the area should ever have been developed.

“It’s very bad soil here, and I’m really concerned,” she explained.

“Our house has actually had subsidence [the sinking or settling of the ground beneath a building or structure] and has moved. It’s cost us a fortune to have it underpinned.”

Hopkins put the total cost at $300,000, of which $200,000 was covered by insurance. She said other homes on the street had faced similar issues, but not all had been able to claim for damages.

“Our house starting cracking and moving in the first year … but our poor neighbours, theirs started moving a bit too late and have all missed out.”

Ultimately, Hopkins hopes council steps in, and has launched a petition calling on it to do so.

“If [council] won’t buy back the land, we’re hoping they’d leave a wider corridor,” she said.

In a statement issued on Friday, council opposition said millions of dollars collected from ratepayers and developers for environmental purposes remained unspent.

“Despite receiving over $21 million in Environmental Offsets from developers this financial year (as of May 29, 2025), the LNP council has invested only $5.5 million in tree planting,” the statement said.

“Further, of the $19.5 million raised from ratepayers via the Bushland Preservation Levy (3.5 per cent of general rates), only one property worth $60,000 has been acquired this financial year.

“With over 100 properties on the council’s acquisition wish list, the opposition questions why these funds are not being used to protect Brisbane’s bushland.”

A spokesperson for Brisbane City Council said the Bridgeman Downs site was “subject to strict environmental overlays, which means any future development must consider koala habitat and wildlife corridors”.

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