Qut Carseldine Paper

Ministerial Regional Community Forum QUT Carseldine Regional Proposal Linda Carroli Over a year ago, the Community Forum became aware of the pending closure of QUT’s Carseldine campus, located on the outer northern suburbs of Brisbane. From January 2009, the campus will no longer be used for teaching. The Greater Brisbane Community Forum has identified this as an opportunity to undertake a bit of an experiment to enhance Brisbane’s northern corridor. The University will retain possession of the site so that it can recommence teaching at a later date. Presently, it is considering options for interim uses. The opportunity to step into a readymade facility is rare in a suburban area and one we shouldn’t let slip through our fingers. After preliminary and informal consultation about embracing this opportunity, we are proposing: •

Establishment of a new and emerging business hub emphasising social enterprise and flexible space and facilities for small businesses

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Streaming of some of the activities of the state government’s proposed Design Centre to develop heightened awareness of environment, design, urban and architectural issues and ideas

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Accommodation for non-profit organisations and social enterprises

This is consistent with and would support some of the other proposals for the campus under consideration such as establishing a knowledge precinct. This proposal outlines some of the reasons why it makes sense for the government, community and QUT to collaborate to explore possible uses for the Carseldine campus so as to enhance community and economic development along the northern corridor. Some of the slides behind me show aspects of the suburban and regional context.

This proposal has specific regional relevance because of: 1. Potential for innovative, diverse and new enterprises along the

northern corridor of Greater Brisbane 2. A lack of suitable office accommodation for community groups and non-profit organisations in the northern region. 3. A growing interest in social enterprise and growth in this sector beyond

charitable non-profits – some of the slides show the diversity of social enterprise in the Brisbane region 4. Growing concern about environmental sustainability in relation to urban planning and design issues in suburban growth areas The Northern Corridor has been identified as an area warranting and requiring social and economic development and diversity. This has been expressed by Brisbane North Development Forum and is explicit in the SEQ Regional Plan, which clearly shows fewer industry and economic centres on the northside than the southside. The Forum has also been made aware of social and economic disadvantage hotspots along the northern corridor indicating a need for strategically located social services and linkages. Accommodation for community groups and non-profit organisations is a region-wide issue and has been reported to forum members by several sources. It is particularly marked in the northern region due to weaker interagency links and lack of 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. Social enterprise is a growing sector in Australia. This sector will grow more dynamically if appropriately resourced and regarded as a legitimate business activity. There is a cafe on the campus which may be an ideal context for a social enterprise or catering business incubator. The Aspley Special School next door also operates an environment and recycling

social enterprise. While several social enterprise networks have emerged in Brisbane, the government has not yet developed policy focused on the Third Sector as an economic driver. In this respect, this proposal has a direct relationship to the Forum’s work on non-profit governance which we’ve heard about today. The facility can develop as a hub of social innovation. There is growing concern, if not urgency, about environmental sustainability in relation to urban planning and design issues in suburban growth areas. The state government is planning to develop a Design Centre in the inner city within an established creative precinct. We want and need a design centre and strategy for the whole community and the whole region, not just another city-centric cultural institution. 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. The Carseldine campus presents a vehicle for a more dispersed approach to environmental, urban and design education, particularly given the extent of land release in the northern sub-region. Of particular interest is the identification of Fitzgibbon, adjacent to the Carseldine campus, as a potential priority area by the Urban Land Development Authority (ULDA). A decision on this is pending. •

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.

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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 at QUT that could inform the development of infrastructure in the Fitzgibbon UDA.

A further possibility was revealed through the state government's recent review of Smart State which has resulted in the establishment of a design strategy in Queensland that will ‘fuse design expertise with other industries to increase economic and industry competitiveness’. This could mean linking manufacturing and the design sector, as well as applying design thinking in interesting ways to drive economic development beyond the city centre. Given that the SEQ Regional Plan earmarks the northern corridor for manufacturing, it would also seem useful to develop a sub-regional interface with the design sector as per Smart State. Some other considerations of this proposal are: •

Planning of major road works for the northern corridor. Roads, coupled with land releases, tend to exacerbate the conditions of urban sprawl, increased pollution and environmental degradation, eroded social capital and inaccessible local business areas. There is a need to consider mitigating those impacts and perhaps new approaches to community and economic development are warranted.

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Connectivity to the developing Chermside business activity centre and 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.

In conclusion, the Brisbane Forum understands that this site has some strategic significance. We believe 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 trialling

innovative approaches to urban, social and economic development in a suburban area. QUT is currently developing a report on the future of the Carseldine Campus. The Department of Tourism, Regional Development and Industry, and the Brisbane Regional Manager’s Coordination Network is interested in progressing this issue in conjunction with Ministerial Regional Community Forum members once the report is available. Presented at Ministerial Regional Community Forum in 2008.