Twenty hectares of riverfront land in Brisbane's east will soon be transformed into a suburban precinct of more than 850 new homes.
Sold off by the Department of Defence in 2020 to private developers Shayher Group for $63 million, plans for Bulimba Barracks include new riverfront parks, sportsfields and the remediation of Tugulawa Park.
It will also offer two- to three-storey townhouses, five-storey apartment buildings and detached homes.
Last year, developers requested an amendment to the existing planning regulations to fill in the entire site with earth to raise it above flood levels.
Last week, Brisbane City Council approved the plans.
Morningside Ward's Kara Cook said the only work residents could expect to see immediately would be the removal of the former military buildings on the site.
"Maybe next year we will see some development," she said.
"The barracks is the biggest inner-city master-plan site since something like Northshore Hamilton."
In Tuesday's council meeting, Cr Cook asked Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner, on behalf of her community, for a guarantee that flood mitigation, traffic management and other infrastructure improvements would keep up with the plans for the barracks development.
He said "anything will have to be built in a way to respond to the flood challenges on that site".
Gauge of community's comfort
The Brisbane River Strategic Floodplain Management Plan describes the Brisbane River floodplain as "the most flood-impacted area in Australia".
It says the Brisbane River floodplain is "estimated to have the largest number of existing buildings of any floodplain in Australia".
"As well as increasing the population that would be exposed to flood risk, future development within the floodplain could modify flood behaviour," it says.
Wolter Consulting executive director and town planner Natalie Rayment agreed, but said new builds were also contingent on the community's appetite for risk.
"The Queensland Reconstruction Authority has a very good guide on building for resilience.
"The issue is where to draw the line between the three areas or parts of a city or region – land that's flood-free, land where you could tolerate the risk and manage it through mitigation strategies and land that is too flood-prone to build housing or anything.
"These three areas have always existed, it's just about working out where your tolerances are and so where to draw or move the lines.
But she said there was "always room for continuous improvement, like we saw coming out of the flood inquiry following the 2011 floods".
"But it takes having good data, making bold decisions and taking the community on the journey and helping them to understand why more height might be appropriate in certain areas to allow upper levels the best opportunity to be flood free," Ms Rayment said.
Council motion dismissed
Last week, Gabba Ward councillor Jonathan Sriranganathan asked the council to amend the City Plan 2014 to "limit all new residential, mixed use, industrial and commercial development proposals" on floodplains.
The proposal echoed calls from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last month to stop all development on floodplains.
But while a Brisbane City Council spokesperson said the organisation welcomed a national discussion on "better planning in flood-prone areas across Australia", it could not stop development.
Cr Schrinner said the council already limited building on flood-prone land through requirements to incorporate mitigation measures.
An updated, online tool identifies areas likely to experience flooding from different sources including Brisbane River, creeks or waterways, and overland flow.
Brisbane's floodplain developments
Northshore Hamilton Olympic Village
The state-led priority development area was expanded in October to more than 300 hectares and 3 kilometres of riverfront land.
The site on the northern bank of the Brisbane River will house the Olympics 2032 Athlete's Village, after which it will be converted into high-density living with 14,000 dwellings and more than 24,000 residents.
BCC flood maps show the entire site is affected by river flooding and some overland flow.
New inner-west primary school
Currently slated to be built on the former bowls club in Toowong, the location for the new $90 million school is now being re-evaluated after the site flooded — as predicted — in February this year.
Infill development on industrial land
Multiple large developments have been put forward for land previously used for industrial purposes.
In Newstead, the Eagles Automotive site on Breakfast Creek Road is slated for a major 800-apartment development on industrial zoned land, prone to flooding from both Breakfast Creek and the Brisbane River.
The Gabba redevelopment
The Gabba precinct is entirely affected by overland flow, which can respond unpredictably to infill development.
The Gabba is set for a $1 billion redevelopment to become the 2032 Olympic venue.
