Article: Gatton starts its $500 million turnaround

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

Gatton starts its $500 million turnaround

Gatton starts its $500 million turnaround

Tony Moore
April 22, 2009 - 6:29AM

Gatton, west of Ipswich, is emerging as the newest bright light in South East Queensland's western corridor as unemployment starts to bite in regional Queensland.

Ninety local businesses will line up this morning to reap the rewards from a $485 million women's prison being built on 680 hectares outside Gatton, as part of South East Queensland's newest mega-prison.

The workforce at South East Queensland Correctional Precinct is expected to jump from 220 to around 450 in the next six months.

This will be good news for the State Government which was forced to concede earlier this month.that Queensland's unemployment rate had increased from 3.6 per cent to 4.8 per cent in the past 12 months.

Prison foundations are already underway and now the business foundations are being laid.

This morning 90 business representatives will walk through the first stages of a 300-bed women's prison, the first piece of a billion-dollar prison complex which could eventually house some 3000 prisoners.

Each local business is eyeing off lucrative contracts for food, material and resources that such a massive prison needs to tick-over.

The women's prison needs 500,000 concrete blocks, 600 tonnes of structural steel, 1100 tonnes of reinforcing bars and 30,000 square metres of reinforcing mesh, grass to cover 140 rugby league fields, 30 kilometre of electrical cabling, 150 tonnes of food and 300,000 cans of soft drink. And then there are ongoing contracts.

The South East Queensland Correctional Precinct includes a 300-bed women's prison to be finished by 2011, a 500-bed men's prison finished by 2013, and a fully-commissioned site able to employ 1750 people.

Baulderstone Queensland won the tender to build the centre, including extra facilities for Gatton.

Queensland general manager Steve Green said the project meant building new community facilities in Gatton, including a $12.5 million community centre and art gallery.

"We have been working on a new community centre at Lake Apex, which was funded in part by the Department of Corrective Services", Mr Green said.

Gatton won the right to have the prison after shrugging off criticism it would damage the town.

In 2007 Gatton's Mayor Steve Jones said the process to build the facilities to attract the right mix of resources for the staff of the prison would prove a boom for Gatton.

The regional city ended up with a $7.5 million library, a new art gallery and truck museum and a new indoor heated 50-metre pool, all paid for by the State Government.

More recently it has included the opening of the $33 million Centre for Advanced Animal Studies and the $100 million UQ Veterinary Sciences complex now being shifted from Pinjarra Hills.

The first veterinary students start in February 2010, 12 months before the women's prison opens.

In 2007 Steve Jones predicted the new prison would attract 6000 people to the region by the time Gatton was revitalised, almost doubling the population of the Lockyer Valley.

It remains to be seen how close he was to his original estimate

[mufreight]

The article by Tony Moore in respect of the governments intended and current development of the Lockyer Valley / Gatton area raises question as to the failure of government to upgrade the transport infrastructue in the area and provide rail passenger services.
There would be considerable economic and social benefit for the first section of the Grandchester to Gowrie rail to upgrade, the section between Grandchester and Laidley to be undertaken at this time with the tunnel through the Little Liverpool Range.
This would enable faster transit times for the freight traffic lowering operating costs and the increased clerances of the new tunnel through the range would enable the electrification of the line as far as Gatton for the resumption of Passenger services.
Unfortunately it would seem that at this time the Government does not consider that this infrastructure which would save money by reducing rail operating costs, provide a much needed passenger service, reduce the numbers of motor vehicle movements on the Warrego Highway which would improve road safety and be more environmentaly friendly by reducing greenhouse emisions, is needed if they have to pay for it and construct it.
Such construction would provide immediate social benefit by providing employment in this time of economic depresion and declinilng employment.
Again a good question to ask your local state member, then if you get one post his/her response.

[Sunbus610]

It would be great to see electrification extended to Gatton or even Helidon eventually one day. I'd certainly hold more hope of this happening than electrification ever reaching Toowoomba.