In relation to the article “Save our swings” (Redland City Bulletin, 30/9/15), Council would like to reinforce that no decision has been made as to what to do with the land at 7 John Street and intends to discuss options with St James Lutheran Church.
Council owns the park at 7 John Street, Cleveland, which the St James Lutheran Church has a permit from Council to occupy free of charge. The church then leases the land to the childcare centre through a commercial agreement where it gains rent for the council-owned site.
Even if the land at 7 John St is rezoned, it is premature to speculate on what will happen to it. It is quite possible Council could continue the current use of the land. If Council does decide to sell the land, Council will offer St James Lutheran Church first option to buy it if ministerial approval is given. This way the church can continue to lease it to the childcare centre under their current commercial arrangement.
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Currently the draft City Plan 2015 is out for public consultation and it has proposed to change the zone of this land from Open Space to Principal Centre to better reflect its current use and to be consistent with the zoning of the surrounding area. You can have your say on the potential zone change by making a submission by 27 November 2015. Visit Council’s website for details.
Council would like to advise that Redland Investment Corporation CEO Peter Kelley did not advise the childcare centre that Council was assessing its surplus land or suggest they could buy the land or pay commercial rates and lease it, as stated in the article. Mr Kelley had discussions with the Lutheran Church who has the permit to occupy the land.
Redland Investment Corporation has been established to deliver a range of activities including entering into partnerships with community groups or the private sector to deliver projects that could provide jobs and a boost to the economy or delivering a higher and better use for land determined as surplus. The sale of land is only one of many options which will be considered. The properties that have been transferred for RiC to investigate potential uses can be found here.
