PLANS are before council for 44 two-bedroom studio units and 63 carparking spaces on a Brassall pub site prone to flooding.
Australian Venue Company (AVC) wants to rezone a section of land at Mihi Tavern at 26 Fernvale Road for temporary accommodation.
A pre-lodgement meeting was held with council last November to discuss the proposals for 64 temporary accommodation units.
That plan was later revised down to minimise the number of studio units that might be affected by flooding.
AVC, which owns more than 200 pubs across Australia, agreed to further revisions of the development to mitigate stormwater, flooding and traffic assessments.
An Urbis town planning report stated that the cabin-style accommodation would “promote greater housing choice by offering flexible accommodation options that cater to couples and small families”.
“This meets the community’s need for diverse and convenient accommodation options, particularly for visitors and tourists.
“The site is not mapped within the flood resilient precinct or priority evacuation area, but it is subject to overland flow path and flood risk mapping.
“Flooding is influenced by local upstream catchment flows and regional flooding from the Bremer River during significant events.”
The DA stated accommodation was envisaged within “very low to medium flood hazard provided they are designed to avoid an intolerable level of flood risk”.
It added that the dwellings would be affected by flood categories ranging from “very low risk to extreme risk”.
The Mihi Tavern underwent an extensive $2.5 million renovation in October 2020 after being damaged by flash flooding in February the same year.
Town planners believed the cabins would address “a current lack of accommodation options in North Ipswich, particularly for visitors attending events and business travellers”.
“The proposed development for temporary accommodation aligns with Ipswich City Council’s strategic objectives and recent initiatives to attract more hotels and short-term accommodation to the city.”
It said the Ipswich Hotel Investment Prospectus highlighted a need for more than 310 new hotel rooms by 2033 to meet growing demand.
“The proposed development … directly contributes to this target, addressing the shortfall in accommodation options within the city,” the application noted.
In March 2019, Coles Group and AVC established joint venture (Queensland Venue Co) in which AVC took over operations of Coles’ Spirit Hotels and receive its profits while Coles would run the group’s liquor stores and take its income.
Coles received $200 million from AVC as part of the deal.
