Mayor’s column | Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce monthly newsletter
August 2023
When you think of the Queensland Government’s investment in the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games and its legacy infrastructure, do you imagine the potential of the Brighton Homes Arena? Council certainly does and that is why we are advocating strongly – and urge you all to join us – for the arena to host the Brisbane Lions’ AFL team during the Gabba reconstruction. Brighton Homes Arena is an $80 million world-class AFL stadium and is the only venue in Australia that provides elite training and recovery facilities for both professional men’s and women’s AFL. There’s speculation that Brisbane’s heritage RNA site could be a potential location, but the costs are enormous and wouldn’t bring the long-term benefits of such an investment in an area that is part of Queensland’s fastest growing city. If you would love to see Ipswich secure this incredible economic opportunity in the coming years, please join us in advocating to the Queensland Government for this outcome.
Boom time in the eastern suburbs of Ipswich
Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce members have known it for a while – the city’s eastern suburbs are growing quickly. The city added six new homes a day and welcomed 6,228 new residents in the 12 months to 30 June 2023. The top five growth suburbs were Ripley, Redbank Plains, Spring Mountain, Collingwood Park and Springfield Lakes. More development applications were lodged in the past 12 months than the previous year – a total of 1,384, with council doing its bit to improve supply to the market with 1,340 applications determined. We know this growth means the city needs a lot more state and federal funding for important infrastructure such as roads, sewerage and public transport, especially in our high-growth areas between Ipswich Central and Springfield. You can get more statistics from council’s Planning and Regulatory Annual Report Card 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023 here.
Nominate a sporting hero now!
The greater Springfield area is home to many of the city’s sporting heroes. The city recognised one earlier this year at the 2023 Ipswich Australia Day Awards, where Springfield Lakes resident Mat Britton won the Sport and Recreation Award for his work with the charity Trial to Triumph (TTT). Council is currently seeking nominations for the 2023 Ipswich Sports Awards. Sport is a keystone of our community, encouraging us to be more active and offering us moments of joy, excitement and connection with each other. The eight categories this year are: Coach of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Team of the Year, Official of the Year, Sporting Organisation of the Year, Masters Sportsperson of the Year, Junior Sportsperson of the Year and Senior Sportsperson of the Year. In addition to the recognition, winners also receive $2,000 in prize money. Nominate online at Ipswich.qld.gov.au by 13 August.
Free flu immunisation clinics in greater Springfield
This winter has been a particularly bad flu season and council is doing everything it can to keep the community safe from flu. To help the community beat the winter influenza blues, council has teamed up with Queensland Health to deliver additional free community flu immunisation clinics until the end of August. It is important for all residents to get the free vaccine so the spread can be slowed. The free clinics are at the YMCA Springfield Central, 134A Parkland Drive, Springfield Central, from 2.30pm to 4.30pm on Thursday 3 August, and at Springfield Central Library, corner of Main Street and Sirius Drive, Springfield Central, 10am to noon on Sunday 13 August and six days later from 10am to noon on Saturday 19 August. The flu vaccine is also available at council’s regular community immunisation clinics. For more information visit Ipswich.qld.gov.au