Located on Mount Samson Road the Samford Parklands is an iconic part of Samford and home to vital community activities and organisations including organised sports, cropping, social enterprise, animal pasture, revegetation works, trails and recreation.
Once owned by CSIRO, Council acquired this unique parcel of land 20 years ago in order to develop its potential as a community asset and improve open space connectivity. The area is zoned Recreation and Open Space. As stewards of the land Council seeks to ensure the artistic, cultural and social activities and existing and future leasing arrangements continue to thrive and nourish the Samford community.
In November 2020, the latest addition to this central community facility was The Samford Parklands Community Hub (SCHUB).
The centre provides rooms for hire to engage in social, cultural, recreational and educational activities and is fast becoming a popular facility supporting various community groups and enterprises.
The next project due to be delivered for the Parklands is the Village Green. Adjacent to SCHUB and connecting through to the popular walking track nearby, this will be a new public space for community.
In late November 2020, Council’s project team met with key community representatives and user groups to kick off the engagement phase with a workshop at the SCHUB. The group brought the detailed understanding of the community and generated ideas across a range of topics. Those ideas have been distilled into a vision for the Village Green.
Concept Design Report & Stakeholder Engagement Summary
Council sought resident feedback regarding the vision and site values for consideration in design via an online survey between 22 December 2020 and 12 February 2021. The project team would like to thank the community for their feedback and have been thrilled to have worked so closely with the community on this significant public space.
Your feedback and survey results can be read in a document downloadable to the right.
The concept design report has been finalised and can be downloaded to the right.
Extracts from the report can be seen below.
The Parklands
Samford Parklands can be thought of as a connected corridor of open space hugging Samford Creek and the South Pine River. It comprises 288 hectares of regionally significant public open space providing vital civic and recreational opportunities to the community of Brisbane and the Moreton Bay Region.
Council came to own this unique parcel of land in 2000 when the CSIRO was directed by the Federal Government to sell it. Consultation between Council and CSIRO resulted in an Infrastructure Agreement which ensured 50 per cent of the total area be retained as a public land in order to develop its potential as a community asset and improve open space connectivity.
Buildings within this area are zoned Special Use Precinct which includes sporting, artistic, cultural and social activities among other things. The Parklands currently supports several tenants who can continue to support the site’s scenic and semi-rural aesthetic in proximity to the plateau of the site, being the future Village Green.
The Village Green
One piece of the Parklands puzzle is an area of public open space next to the SCHUB which is called the Village Green. This open space area is envisaged to function as the common ground stitching together current and future site users and visitors.
Adjacent land users (tenants of SCHUB, future tenants of the EOI sites, QPWS, Samford Valley Archers, Millen Farm etc) will be able to share a common landscape park space as a forecourt to their operations and activities.
Council is currently working on the concept plan for this site and undertaking engagement with several stakeholder groups is essential in order to establish a singular and unifying vision, harness community momentum and to provide guidance on site activation. Initial thoughts include the concept of a nurturing landscape as a place for the community to grow and develop in a clearly sustainable way, a vision that will sit comfortably on the site which is already richly storied with farming, science and recreation history.
Projects within the Parklands
Since the purchase of the land, Council has produced several master plans for the Samford Parklands, the latest of which was completed in 2017. This master plan presented a range of schemes to upgrade and deliver new public facilities and spaces as well as support community organisations to make use of the public asset.
The scale and size of each project within the master plan varies, and their timing is dependent on funding, continued operations of site users, site stakeholders and community support. The following is an abbreviated list of recent and upcoming projects to provide context to Council’s current Village Green project.
The Samford Community Hub (SCHUB)
In 2019 works were completed on the soccer precinct on the eastern side of Mt Samson Road including construction of new fields, warmup spaces, lighting and associated landscape works. Also in 2019, work began on construction of a new community building called the ‘Samford Hub’ which is intended to support a diverse range of community activities. It comprises public verandahs, community group tenancy spaces (e. for food distribution and support services), kitchen facilities, amenities, offices and shared use meeting/activity spaces. New carparking and access roads have been constructed to support this facility.
The Glasshouse Precinct
The existing glasshouses which can be seen from Mount Samson Road are currently being refurbished for activation and community use. Submissions have been sought for an expression of interest to lease and activate three separate lots within this precinct. This initiative is derived from Council’s Regional Economic Development Strategy which articulates a clear plan to diversity and develop the Moreton Bay Region, ensuring it takes advantage of economic growth opportunities, attracts investment, generates local employment. Submissions have now closed and will be assessed by Council in early 2021.
The sports facilities
The Samford Soccer Club
Located north east of the future Village Green on the other side of Mount Samson Road, in 2019 Council carried out works to expand playing capacity and improve the club facilities. This included the construction of a new senior soccer field, junior soccer field and warmup space, plus additional lighting, fencing and site landscaping.
The Samford Tennis Club
Located north of the future Village Green, in 2019 Council delivered two new tennis courts for the more than 300 club members to increase playing capability. Improvements also included an upgrade to the lighting for the existing courts.
