Page 12 - BOL Mar 22 Edition

Suttons Beach

Pavilions Safety

Issues - Reports

Made Public

The engineering and heritage reports into the condition of legacies from years ago that haven’t held up in the harsh marine
Pavilion 1 Suttons Beach have been made publicly available, environment.
following a recent vote by Council.
“There’s accelerated internal degradation, water is getting into
Mayor Peter Flannery said it was a unanimous decision in the the foundations, and there’s no guarantee that any repair will
interests of public accountability and transparency in decision save it.
making. The reports include:
“While the Pavilions aren’t on the Queensland Heritage Register,
• Three separate structural engineering reports identifying both heritage reports show the cliff face stairs are in near original
major building defects and concerns. condition and Council is absolutely committed to preserving
• Two heritage investigations which concluded that those.
the building’s historical values have been eroded by
redevelopments over the last 80 years. “I want to assure residents we’ve done everything we can to
explore all alternative options, this isn’t something we rushed
Mayor Flannery said that action by Council was critical, to rectify into, and I encourage everyone to read the reports online.”
the misinformation circulating on social media.
Council also agreed today to preserve the Suttons Beach
“Council has been working with the tenant inside the Pavilions rotunda, whatever happens to the site.
since last year (25 February 2021) and we had planned for
community consultation about the future of the site,” he said. Cr Karl Winchester (Div 6) moved the amendment to the motion
on behalf of concerned residents.
“We will still proceed with this plan and bring forward our
community engagement plan to start February 11, so I encourage “This has become an icon of the Peninsula like the Woody Point
everyone to read the reports we’ve made public today so you Jetty and Redcliffe Jetty, and given that the rotunda doesn’t have
can be an informed participant in this program. the same structural issues as Pavilion 1, I believe it can be saved,”
he said.
“There’s one important outstanding factor you’ll note in reading
the reports, and that’s a recommendation to undertake invasive “It’s critical that we maintain the Suttons Beach area as a useable
testing of the structure once the tenant vacates the building. community space, and we want the community’s input on how
we can best activate this precinct for the public.
“This will involve the removal of fixtures and fittings inside the
building, to drill into the concrete and identify the extent of the “Personally I’d like to see this area used by families and visitors
damage that’s been done over the years. with space for pop-up events and community activities.

“We acknowledge that this investigation will be an expensive “But most important is to know how our community will want
undertaking for ratepayers, but Council has decided it’s to use this site in the future, and we’ll be starting community
important to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that everyone consultation about this next week on February 11.”
knows all the factors and costs at play in trying to save this worn-
out building. Moreton Bay Region’s CEO Greg Chemello wrote to the lessees
after their Facebook post, detailing correspondence dating back
“We know already that we are battling a combination of issues to February last year.
including concrete cancer, along with design and construction