Monthly Archives: April 2021

Ranger Stacey wild about joining Redland City Council team


April 9, 2021

Redland City Council is excited to welcome Stacey Thomson, better known as Ranger Stacey, to Council’s Environment and Education team this week.

Mayor Karen Williams said Ranger Stacey, former host of the long-running, nature-themed television show Totally Wild, which ended recently, would be based primarily at IndigiScapes at Capalaba.

“We are delighted that Ranger Stacey has brought her wealth of conservation knowledge and experience to our community,” she said.

“She has a passion for inspiring a love of nature and Australian wildlife, and we are thrilled to have her working as part of our Council team.”

Ranger Stacey said working on Redlands Coast for Council was the start of an exciting new chapter for her, championing conservation and inspiring a new generation to connect with nature.

“I’ve been coming to Redlands Coast for recreation since I was a little girl and was married at Cleveland’s Grand View Hotel,” she said.

“I love it here.

“Redlands Coast is a beautiful, diverse environment with so much to offer from the coastal zones and islands to the hinterland.

“This is a very green part of the world with lots of parklands and vast tracts of bushland still in place.

“When the television show ended, I wanted to do something I believed in and where I could lend my skills.

“This is a very exciting new start for me and I’m looking forward to spending more time on Redlands Coast and getting to know the community better.

“The people here really value where they live and I’m looking forward to playing an active part in helping to showcase the many natural wonders that are found here.”

Music and musings at Birkdale Community Precinct open days


April 9, 2021

Redlands Coast performers will provide music to muse by as the community ponders future uses for Birkdale Community Precinct during community open days on April 16 and 17.

Hosted by Redland City Council, the open days offer a rare opportunity for people to tour the 62-hectare precinct and learn more about its history, ecology and cultural importance.

Performing at various time throughout the days will be singer/songwriter Joe Geia and the quirky all-female band, Mama Juju & The Jam Tarts.

Expect an eclectic mix of songs and styles from the quirky Mama Juju & The Jam Tarts.

Geia, left, is a renowned guitarist, didgeridoo player and songwriter, and is an influential figure in the development of contemporary Indigenous music.

Mama Juju & The Jam Tarts are a four-piece band who play a variety of instruments and a variety of genres. Their music is an eclectic mix of old and new, original and re-envisioned songs with jazz, folk, country and rock influences

Free activities at the community open days include: displays about the history of the site, a guided tour of the land on a trackless train, animal petting zoo for children, and weaving workshops. Food and drinks, including Devonshire tea, will be available for purchase.

There will also be the opportunity to have your say on what the future holds for this important precinct while taking a look around historic Willards Farm and the fascinating World War II radio receiving station. Redland City Council is committed to engaging with the local and regional community to understand what they would like to see this land used for.

The community open days will run from 10am to 4pm on both days, Friday April 16 and Saturday April 17, COVID-safety requirements and weather permitting. Parking and access will be available via the Birkdale Baptist Church grounds, 1 Jones Road, Birkdale, turning off Old Cleveland Road East. Please follow parking signs on the day.

Bookings are required.

Visit yoursay.redland.qld.gov.au for more details and to register for your free tickets

Council calls for interest in new Active Travel Group membership.


April 9, 2021

Redland City Council is calling for community input to help build an active and healthy Redlands Coast.

Mayor Karen Williams said the expression of interest (EOI) process for membership of the Redlands Coast Active Travel Group was designed to allow the new group to convene from mid-2021.

“Our aim is to identify organisations and individuals who can help us build a more connected, active and healthy Redlands Coast,” Cr Williams said.

“Active travel can help to encourage community-friendly public spaces, improve productivity, health and wellbeing.

“It can also contribute to reducing the burden of parking and transport infrastructure dominated by cars.

“We are looking to the new group members’ advocacy and passion to help drive and support active travel and transport infrastructure and innovation.

“We want our organisation and the Redlands Coast community to be an example of an environmentally sustainable and transport-resilient community.”

Chair of the new Active Travel Group, Division 2 Councillor Peter Mitchell, said the new reference group would focus on all active travel modes.

“The rising popularity of scooters is just one example of an active travel mode used in many urban areas for both recreation and journeys to work.

“The new reference group will help Council form strategic partnerships with community and transport groups and help to advocate for more active travel opportunities or projects of benefit to the Redlands Coast.

“This includes pedestrian access and safety within our villages and centres and all ages mobility issues encompassing personal mobility devices.”

Division 10 Councillor and Deputy Chair of the new group, Cr Paul Bishop, said Council’s decision to establish the reference group scope was a clear call to action for those in the community with a passion for more active travel.

“More diverse active travel planning will help to shape the future character of our unique Redlands Coast and the way we move between and within our urban villages, as we celebrate our city’s naturally wonderfully environment,” Cr Bishop said.

“For this process to be a success we need genuine input from those most directly affected – our community.”

To express your interest in being a member of the Active Travel Group, please go to Council’s Yoursay Redland Coast website. The EOI closes on 30 April 2021.

Council recycles road materials to create better roads


April 8, 2021

Redland City Council is using recycled road materials to deliver better road conditions for the community.

Mayor Karen Williams said the re-use of profilings (the waste by-product collected when roads are resealed) offered a number of benefits to both Council and road users.

“Recycling the profilings and using them in place of gravel not only results in cost savings for Council, but also offers a high quality structural surface and reduces dust,” she said.

“Profilings are a mix of surface bitumen and asphalt and some of the gravel below which are removed as part of the road resealing process, and are reused as part of Council’s support of the circular economy, where materials and products are recirculated for as long as possible.

“They have been used to build Council roads on the Southern Moreton Bay Islands (SMBI) for the past few years as part of the Green Seal program.

“We have also completed several big projects on the mainland, including Billiau Road in Mount Cotton and School of Arts Road in Redland Bay, which used thousands of cubic metres of profilings.”

The road profilings are screened and stored at Council’s quarry and then transported to sites as required.

Division 5 Councillor Mark Edwards said profilings had also been used for SMBI road maintenance for about the past two years.

“There is a need for continuous maintenance of unsealed gravel roads and roadside drains on the islands and Council’s road maintenance crews use road profilings – laying it, watering and rolling it to form a better surface,” Cr Edwards said.

“The profilings compact and hold better, reduce dust and have greater longevity than gravel alone.”

Work progresses on new Redlands Coast fibre network


April 8, 2021

A new fibre network will deliver high-speed connectivity across Redlands Coast as the region looks towards driving a post-COVID future economy.

Mayor Karen Williams said the network would initially connect five major Redland City Council sites while Council continued investigating how spare fibre bandwidth could help improve internet connections for local businesses and residents.

“A reliable and fast internet service is crucial for local business, particularly following the disruptions presented in a COVID-19 era,” Cr Williams said.

“Fast connectivity will allow more start-up businesses to base themselves on Redlands Coast while also helping established businesses pivot and work towards a broader customer base.

“COVID-19 has changed working behaviour, with working from home becoming a viable option, so a fibre network that looks to the future is crucial if we want to provide opportunity for long-term changes to the way we work and live.”

Redlands Coast Chamber of Commerce President Rebecca Young said Redlands Coast had a “real opportunity” to position itself as being very attractive to business and industry.

“If we are going to position ourselves in terms of investment appeal, and if we want to become more aggressive in that space of attracting businesses to create job growth, we are going to need a fast and reliable network service,” Ms Young said.

“Redlands Business Park is our main commercial and industrial land space on Redlands Coast and connectivity is important to continue the growth of existing businesses and attract others into the space.”

Ms Young said COVID-19 had also forced many local businesses to think about securing a broader customer base.

“Even if a business has a local bricks and mortar retail outlet on Redlands Coast, having the ability to be connected globally is going to keep people afloat in uncertain times,” she said.

“It is certainly important that businesses can remain strong locally, but when we have restrictions placed on how we can operate, lockdowns and border closures, we need to think more broadly about a customer base.

“Fast speed internet connectivity opens up more opportunities, not only for start-up ventures to be based here, but for large-scale and global businesses to allow their employees to live here and work from home.

“Recent studies have been done post-COVID on decentralising urban centres. From that perspective, having fast internet availability on Redlands Coast makes that quite attractive.”

Cr Williams said the fibre network, funded through a $1 million State Government Unite and Recover Community Stimulus Package grant, would initially connect a number of Council facilities in Cleveland and Capalaba, with the potential for it to extend to further Capalaba and Victoria Point sites in the future.

“In addition to saving Council $900,000 over the 20-year life of the infrastructure, this project will offer a number of key economic and community benefits to our city, including enhanced connectivity for our schools, hospital and other vital community infrastructure,” Cr Williams said.

“This is an example of what can be achieved when Council and the State Government work together and on behalf of the community I thank the State Government for investing in this important project.”

Construction of stage 1 is underway and expected to be completed by late May, weather permitting.

The Redlands Coast Fibre Network Expansion project is an initiative of the Queensland Government.

Council spends $2.5 million on fire management for SMBI


April 7, 2021

Council is on track to spend more than $2.5 million on fire mitigation measures on the Southern Moreton Bay Islands (SMBI) since 2017.

Mayor Karen Williams said the fire management measures were an important component of Council’s annual disaster preparedness activities on the SMBI and in response to major fires on the islands in recent years.

“Major works have been undertaken on Council-owned land, and will continue, as part of our strategy to make the islands safer for residents,” she said.

“Council also works closely with the community and supports individual responsibility for fire safety on private properties.

“This includes community education and awareness campaigns and liaising with our Community Champions who help spread the safety message.”

This financial year, Council has budgeted almost $779,000 for all fire mitigation measures on the SMBI, including not only fuel reduction but also weed control, tree pruning, planned burning, fire trail maintenance and debris removal.

“This brings the total spend, since July 2017, to $2.502 million,” Cr Williams said.

“Following the implementation of all recommendations in the QFES Fire Management Plan Review Report, Council is planning an ongoing annual budget of $590,000 to maintain the fire management regime on the SMBI from next financial year – almost double what Council spent in the 2017-18 financial year.”

Division 5 Councillor Mark Edwards said it was important to maintain fuel reduction zones, located between privately-owned properties containing structures and Council-owned bushland, to ensure access for response vehicles.

“The maintenance program includes slashing eight times during the year and uplift pruning of vegetation, which also helps to reduce the fuel area adjacent to private properties,” he said.

Cr Edwards said there were also 44 fire trails on the SMBI.

“This network of about 23.5km of trails has been constructed over the past three years and more may be constructed as required,” he said.

“They are also subject to a maintenance program, with slashing and vegetation removal to ensure vehicle access and the application of rock hardening to some trail areas.

“Other fire mitigation measures on the islands this year include weed control, removal of debris and planned burns which are undertaken between April and September, weather permitting.”

Botanic discovery as fresh as a new daisy


April 6, 2021

A delicate new daisy has popped up on the Redlands Coast radar.

Redland City Mayor Karen Williams said the Slender Bottle-daisy (Lagenophora gracilis) was found by the native nursery coordinator of Council’s IndigiScapes Centre during a recent seed collecting trip in the Leslie Harrison Conservation Area at Capalaba.

“The Community Bushcare team was out braving the heat to collect native plant seeds and fruits that the nursery needs for propagation when they came across this little flower alongside the path to the Leslie Harrison Dam,” Cr Williams said.

“It caught the eye of nursery coordinator Ben Webb who thought it looked unusual, so he took some photos and discovered this fragile flower has previously never been recorded as growing in Redlands Coast.

Council’s nursery coordinator, Ben Webb, with the fragile flower that caught his eye.

“The Slender Bottle-daisy does occur in eastern Australia but its normal habitat is the floor of eucalyptus forests.

“It’s possible it has been growing at the site for some time, but simply remained undiscovered because it’s not a high-traffic area and it wasn’t flowering. It was growing under heavy canopy so obviously needs a shady spot and a particular type of soil and light.”

Mr Webb has returned to the site to locate the plant again, check for flowers and seeds for hopeful propagation.

Redland City Division 9 Councillor Adelia Berridge said the Slender Bottle-daisy discovery was very exciting.

“We really want to encourage people to look after this fragile gem,” Cr Berridge said.

“Anyone in the Leslie Harrison Conservation Area might be lucky enough to see it for themselves, when it’s in flower.”

 

A close-up of the daisy which has a dark green rosette.

While Bushcare volunteers work to provide seeds and fruits required for propagation, the IndigiScapes nursery has a separate team of volunteers who help sort and propagate seeds along with Mr Webb.

More information about how to volunteer on these teams can be found on Council’s website, where a calendar details where and when future seed collection trips will take place throughout the year.

Cr Williams said the discovery has really highlighted a wonderful way volunteers could contribute to the knowledge and preservation of our Redlands Coast environment.

“Many of the Bushcare volunteers are regulars who have been collecting seeds on these trips for years, and so have built up a considerable level of expertise,” she said.

“The trips are also a chance for participants to socialise and get fitter in the outdoors, and to discover Redlands Coast reserves they haven’t been to before.”

If you have an interest in Council’s Indigiscapes Native Nursery and its programs please go to the website.

Council tests new version of PD Online


April 1, 2021

Redland City Council’s PD Online portal is temporarily unavailable but Council hopes to have a new version online soon.

Council is testing a new version of Planning Xchange, of which PD Online is one component.

Dependent upon the outcome of testing, Council hopes to go live with this newer version of PD Online as soon as possible.

Council apologises for any inconvenience caused by PD Online going offline.

While PD Online is temporarily unavailable, residents wishing to obtain information on existing development applications can send an enquiry via email to pdonlineenquiries@redland.qld.gov.au, phone Council on 3829 8999 or visit one of Council’s Customer Contact Centres.

To obtain property information relating to zones and overlays in Red-e-Map, council has provided instructions on its PD Online webpage.

 

New ‘bike and scooter play’ playgrounds open in time for Easter


April 1, 2021

Get set for exciting new play experiences at neighbourhood parks in Wellington Point and Ormiston, just in time for Easter school holidays.

Redland City Mayor Karen Williams said playground upgrades at Plantation Place Park at Wellington Point and Raby Esplanade Park at Ormiston have seen $355,000 and $184,000 upgrades respectively, with the addition of exciting bike and scooter play features at both parks.

“These upgrades are part of a budgeted program of approximately $13.8 million to improve popular parks and sports fields across Redlands Coast,” Cr Williams said.

“We expect families and bike and scooter riders to thoroughly enjoy the ‘real road feel’ of the fantastic new play elements opening for school holidays.

“I’m delighted to see these novel upgrades, from which local communities will benefit for years to come.”

Fun at Raby Bay Esplanade Park, Ormiston: Sean and Nabilah with children Cameron and Sienna

Division 1 Councillor Wendy Boglary said the parks would likely become popular with locals and visitors as places to learn to ride as well as to build road awareness and cycling confidence.

“At Plantation Place there’s an exciting mini-cycle precinct with road signs, a zebra crossing, play train station, small bicycle slalom, mini scooter and bike ramps and corrugations,” she said.

“It’s what parents said they wanted during my community consultation and takes me back to the facility where I learned to ride my bike as a girl.

“This is complemented by a bright new play unit with climbing elements, a slide and a swing.

“At Raby Esplanade, last year’s major playground upgrade is now accompanied by a 200m long circuit that builds on the community’s traditional use of the park as a place for riding bikes and scooters.

“I can see families loving the new features, which include jumps, traffic signs, road markings, turning lanes, roundabouts, ditch rides, rest stops, speed humps and more.

“I invite all Redlands Coast families to explore all these parks have to offer over the Easter school holidays.”

ENDS