Qut Carseldine Notified Business

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: •

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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: •

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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

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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.