Boggo Road Gaol development application approved

A controversial proposal to add a commercial two-storey building to the heritage-listed Boggo Road Gaol site in Dutton Park has been approved by Brisbane City Council, but a community group against the development says it will appeal in court.

Key points:

• The heritage-listed 1880s-era Boggo Road Gaol is in Brisbane’s Dutton Park
• A proposal for a commercial building between the gaol and a neighbouring CSIRO building has been approved
• Residents have opposed the proposal saying it is not right for the site

The development application from Brisbane property company Stockwell has been a point of contention for neighbouring residents, many of whom say it is not appropriate for the site, places too much weight on car parking, and will increase traffic congestion.

After months of delays as the council sought more information on the proposed development, the application, which includes shops and offices, was given the green light late on Friday afternoon.

The 1880s-era Boggo Road Gaol sits in a key precinct connecting the University of Queensland via the Eleanor Schonell Bridge to the Princess Alexandra and Mater Hospital precinct in Woolloongabba.

It also has two schools next door — the new Brisbane South State Secondary College and Dutton Park State School — and will back onto the new Cross River Rail station at Boggo Road once that station is completed.

The train station is expected to serve 22,000 commuters daily by 2036.

Stockwell lodged the application for a two-storey office and retail development between the heritage-listed gaol and the neighbouring CSIRO sciences building in 2019 after a larger design was scrapped two years earlier.

The development will replace an 11.5-metre, tree-lined pedestrian and cycling boulevard between the buildings with the new commercial building and an 87-space car park, with additional parking underground.

The proposed two-storey shopping and office precinct near the heritage-listed gaol.(Supplied: Stockwell Development) 

Stockwell reworked the application to widen pedestrian and cycling paths through the precinct in response to residents’ concerns, with developer Mark Stockwell telling ABC Radio Brisbane last month that he had worked hard to manage conflicting needs for the site.

“I’ve got to make it not only work for the community, I’ve got to make it work for everyone,” he said last month.

Community group Boggo Road Futures put forward an alternative solution for the site converting the majority into green space by covering the Cross River Rail station and existing rail lines with concrete hoops and filling them over with soil.

The group’s spokesman Peter Pollard told ABC Radio Brisbane last month that residents were concerned the proposed development was not sensitive to the gaol’s darker history and emphasised car parking over heritage.

“When you look at the development, 70 per cent of the development is car park. You’re going to pave our heritage for the sake of a parking lot,” he said.

On Monday, Mr Pollard said the community group intended to appeal the council’s decision in the Planning and Environment Court.

Mr Stockwell was contacted for comment.

 

Article Source: www.abc.net.au

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