North Bank was a proposed commercial development in the

Brisbane River The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the Go ...

in the centre of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Australia. The site to be built on started from

William Jolly Bridge The William Jolly Bridge is a heritage-listed road bridge over the Brisbane River between North Quay in the Brisbane central business district and Grey Street in South Brisbane, within City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was design ...

and stretched to

Goodwill Bridge The Goodwill Bridge is a pedestrian and cyclist bridge which spans the Brisbane River in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The bridge connects the South Bank Parklands in South Brisbane to Gardens Point in the Brisbane CBD. The Goodwill Br ...

at Gardens Point. There was minimal public support for the proposal.

Project plan

The proposed Multiplex design for North Bank (opposite

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Alber ...

) contained eight skyscrapers for office space and residential use, with the highest building being 46 stories. It also contained a pedestrian bridge, 'open spaces', riverfront promenade and an olympic-sized public swimming pool. The proposal entailed the government allowing Multiplex to build out as far as 90 metres into the Brisbane River.

Opposition to the proposal

There was minimal support outside of government and Multiplex offices for this development, and opposition has come from the public as well as Queensland's peak body of town planners, a major group of architects, and an award-winning University of Queensland Associate Professor Peter Skinner. Despite its initial approval by the Bligh Labor government there is currently much debate regarding the value of the project, given the extensive ecological, visual, physical and infrastructure consequence involved in building so far out over the river. There was much opposition to the proposal, with most parties concerned about the architectural, historical and ecological legacy of the development. The

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC) is the democratic executive local government authority for the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The largest City Council in Australia by population and area, BCC's jurisd ...

and the Queensland State Government are not the developers of the site, but are vested interested parties as North Bank is a private developer's proposal. There was a very limited and under-publicised public consultation period undertaken after the project was first announced. The National Trust Queensland has condemned the proposal as an inappropriate use of an historic precinct. Federal Environment Minister

Peter Garrett Peter Robert Garrett (born 16 April 1953) is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and former politician. In 1973, Garrett became the lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil. As a performer he is known for his sign ...

also spoke out against the project. The Sunday Mail on 20 October 2010 reported that commercial elements of the North Bank development had been scrapped and a much simpler project will go forward that improves public access for pedestrians and cyclists under the existing riverside expressway. On 30 May 2012, the new Queensland Premier

Campbell Newman Campbell Kevin Thomas Newman (born 12 August 1963) is a former Australian politician who served as the 38th Premier of Queensland from 26 March 2012 to 14 February 2015. He served as the member for Ashgrove in the Legislative Assembly of Quee ...

announced plans for a slightly downsized North Bank with some government offices and a boardwalk.

References

External links

North Bank
at

Queensland State Archives The Queensland State Archives is the lead agency for public recordkeeping in Queensland, Australia. It is the custodian of the largest and most significant documentary heritage collection about Queensland. Established in 1959, Queensland State ...

National Trust Queensland website
{{coord, 27, 28, 20.4, S, 153, 01, 20.84, E, type:landmark_region:AU, display=title Buildings and structures in Brisbane Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in Australia Proposed populated places in Australia Brisbane central business district

Project plan

Opposition to the proposal

See also

References

External links