DRAFT - CONFIDENTIAL

Ministerial Regional Community Forum - Greater Brisbane

Notified Other Business
Forum 33
Linda Carroli

Proposition

The Forum has recently become aware of a number of issues that could be
resolved by partnering with QUT to use its Carseldine Campus while
teaching on the campus on hiatus. The campus will not be used for
teaching beyond January 2009. The University will retain possession of the
campus, which may be available for some interim use/s consistent with
land use requirements. At present the University is also considering longer
term options for the site.

There has been preliminary and informal consultation with various groups
and individuals about embracing the opportunity presented by the
vacated campus so as to respond to needs outlined in this document .
Some of opportunities canvassed include:

• Establishment of new and emerging business hub emphasising social

enterprise and flexible space and facilities for small businesses
• Streaming of the some of the activities state government’s proposed
Design Centre to develop heightened awareness of environment,
design, urban and architectural issues and ideas
• Accommodation for non-profit organisations and social enterprises

Issues

The issues the Forum has identified:

1. A need for and existence of innovative, diverse and new enterprises

along the northern corridor of Greater Brisbane
• The Northern Corridor has been identified as an area warranting and
requiring social and economic development. This has been
expressed by Brisbane North Development Forum and is reflected in
the SEQ Regional Plan.
• The State government prioritises diverse regional economies as well
as knowledge rich and innovative enterprise development
• Support for innovative home-based SMEs
• Proximity to the Department of Trade, Regional Development and
Industry (formerly State Development) Aspley office
 • Opportunity to bolster local business particularly financial, legal and
other business to business services

2. A lack of suitable office accommodation for community groups and

non-profit organisations in the northern region.
• The matter of accommodation for community groups and non-profit
organisations is a region-wide issue and has been reported to the
Forum by several sources.
• It is particularly marked in the northern region due to weaker
interagency links and government owned/developed infrastructure.
• Carseldine campus is already used for community purposes
including office space for Catalyst Youth Arts and as a meeting place
for the North Brisbane region elders.
• An awareness of social and economic disadvantage hotspots along
the northern corridor indicating a need for strategically located
social services
• The Brisbane Place project spoke to Forum members about
disadvantage in the Strathpine to Kallangur area, compounded
by the development of advantaged and car dependent
development such as North Lakes.
• The use of the caravan parks in Aspley as emergency
accommodation and, increasingly, as permanent housing for low
income groups

3. A growing interest in social enterprise and growth in this sector beyond

charitable non-profits
• Several social enterprise networks have emerged in Brisbane and
the government has not yet developed policy focused on the Third
Sector as an economic driver.
• The Forum is developing a regional proposal on governance in the
Not for Profit Sector indicating a need to strengthen this sector
region-wide and has commenced research for a report and proposal
on Social Enterprise

4. Growing concern about environmental sustainability in relation to

urban planning and design issues in suburban growth areas
• Inappropriate styles of housing continue to be approved by local
government and developed by the private sector
• The Brisbane City Council has presented a Smart City information
booth at the Aspley Hypermarket, indicating the need for positive
and creative education and communication
 • Brisbane City Council’s Neighbourhood Planning reveals interest in
diverse business, social and housing development
• Identification of Fitzgibbon, adjacent to the Carseldine campus, as
potential priority area by the Urban Land Development Authority
(ULDA)
• The boundaries of the Fitzgibbon Urban Development Area (UDA)
will be determined when the site is officially declared a UDA.
• The ULDA works with local and state government, community,
local landholders and the development industry to help deliver
commercially viable developments that include diverse,
affordable, sustainable housing, using best-practice urban
design.
• As well as planning and development assessment, the ULDA will
also develop key sites and priority infrastructure within selected
urban areas. The opportunity exists to pilot an approach to
infrastructure that could inform the development of infrastructure
in the Fitzgibbon UDA.

Other Considerations

• The campus is the only significant social infrastructure in this area. It

provides sporting facilities, walking tracks, bushland, library and other
amenities to the community not provided by government.
• The state government is planning to develop a Design Centre in the
inner city within an established creative precinct. In Brisbane, the state
government’s provision of cultural infrastructure and funding tends to
be focused on the inner city ring. The campus houses professional
standard theatre and gallery that could be used to deliver some of the
program activity of the Design Centre, particularly those concerned
with environmental, urban design, architecture and sustainability
issues.
• Major road works are planned for the northern corridor. Outside of the
SEQ Regional Plan, these include no proposals for mitigating negative
impacts such as urban sprawl, increased pollution and environmental
degradation, eroded social capital and inaccessible local business
areas.
• The use of the campus to provide office accommodation for not for
profit organisations only works for those organisations that are not
bound to service provision in particular localities
• Proximity to and connectivity to the developing Chermside business
activity centre
• Accessibility to transport. The campus is connected via bus and train
services to outer areas (into Moreton Bay Regional Shire, Caboolture
 and then the Sunshine Coast) and by bus routes that connect to the
CBD via Gympie Road (from Carseldine train station) and Kelvin Grove
Road (from Aspley Hypermarket) and by train to the CBD and other
transport nodes. The Hornibrook Bus Line also connects this area to
Redcliffe.
• Consistency with many of the state government’s priorities for 2008
• Consistency with the SEQ Regional Plan

Limitations

• The University is not in a position to offer spaces for free and spaces
must be rented
• The Campus can only be occupied temporarily while the University
considers future options for the facility
• The land is reserved for educational purposes and must be used for
such purposes unless an interim change of use is approved by
government

Support

These broad ideas have received informal expressions of support and

interest from:

• Brisbane Social Enterprise Hub

• Speak Out
• Edgeware
• Blak Business Smart Business
• SANDBAG
• Foresters ANA
• Brisbane City Council staff have expressed a willingness to investigate
possibilities
• QUT has indicated a preparedness to listen to proposals and ideas

Additionally

• Contact has been made with members of federal, state and local
government to inform them of the proposal
• Submissions have been made, through feedback and community
consultation processes on policy and planning, about the proposal and
highlighting the opportunity the vacated campus presents. This
includes feedback to Smart State review consultations and feedback on
the Design Centre plans.
The Forum has cause to believe that that government, community and
QUT are able to collaborate in considering and planning for the future of
QUT’s Carseldine campus which presents a unique opportunity for
innovative approaches to urban, social and economic development in a
suburban area. The development of the Kelvin Grove Urban Village is an
exemplar of university and government collaboration.

Questions

This matter is relevant to several government departments:

• Department of Education and The Arts

• Department of Trade, Regional Development and Industry
• Department of Communities

There is a desire on the part of the Forum to ascertain whether

government is prepared to consider further action on these ideas and
allocate resources to pursue this opportunity.

In particular the Forum would like ascertain whether the Government is

prepared to commit resources to establish a working party, as a matter of
priority, comprised of departmental representation, QUT representation,
community representation, including the Ministerial Regional Community
Forum, and other stakeholders to fully explore and respond to this matter.