Council to build sport fields on flood-prone land
Brisbane’s flood-prone land has been purchased by Brisbane City Council which will spend millions to turn it into sporting fields.
The 2018-19 budget revealed the council would spend $40 million over three years to deliver new facilities in at least six suburbs.
Lord mayor Graham Quirk said the council purchased land as part of the flood mitigation buy-back scheme.
“We can now re-use those lands for important sport and recreation facilities,” he said.
In a first for Brisbane council, a synthetic surface will be used at four of the locations.
The four fields was a 2016 council election commitment.
Cr Quirk said the council tended to use natural ground at sporting facilities in the past, but synthetic surfaces were cheaper to maintain.
“They [synthetic] don’t go well with flooding areas [so] we’re making sure in those locations where we’re doing them they are fairly flood free,” he said.
About $2.7 million was allocated for the synthetic fields in the budget with $2.2 million to be spent in 2018-19.
There was $11.1 million allocated over three years for the sports and community parks with $2.2 million for 2018-19, $5.5 million for 2019-20 and $3.3 million for 2020-21.
The council’s figure of $40 million for sporting fields includes more than $22 million for a new golf course at Cannon Hill.
Locations of new sports facilities:
- Wakerley – new netball precinct
- Chermside – synthetic hockey field
- Mitchelton – synthetic soccer field
- Moggill – multi-use district sports park
- Rocklea – sports park
- Windsor – sports park
The locations of two further synthetic fields are yet to be determined but will be decided in the 2018-19 financial year.