The Swanbank Power Station Precinct has played an important role in supporting Queensland’s resource and energy supply for more than 60 years.
The 330ha site has a proud history of coal mining and coal generation but its future is in sustainable, low-emission energy. In line with objectives of the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan, CleanCo is transforming the Swanbank site into a clean energy hub, ensuring long-term jobs and economic opportunities.
In 2022 the CleanCo Board committed to a major project to redevelop the Swanbank power station site into a clean energy hub incorporating community infrastructure.
CleanCo conducted a range of baseline studies to gather information about the site. Swanbank's coal-mining history had created a range of legacy issues, including land subsidence and contamination, and an ash dam covering 153 hectares.
With baseline information in hand, CleanCo's team began talking with the Ipswich community about possibilities for the site. Key stakeholders were briefed late in 2022/early 2023. Out of these conversations, some draft precinct spatial options for the site were developed:
- option 1 - Innovation as a focus at Swanbank clean energy hub
- option 2 - Innovation focus including recreation facilities at Swanbank clean energy hub
CleanCo shared these concept plans with the community at pop up stalls in Ripley, Springfield and the Ipswich Show early in 2023. We asked for feedback and suggestions for other ideas people would like to see included in the masterplan.
We also invited people to share their feedback and ideas through online tools, including a 5-minute survey, interactive map. Read the report summarising CleanCo's community engagement in the lead up to the co-design process.
In March 2023, Ipswich residents were invited to submit an expression of interest (EOI) join a Community Co-design Panel, to develop a draft vision and masterplan for the site.
EOI invitations were distributed to households in Ripley, South Ripley and Raceview. People could also register an EOI through this website. An online meeting was held to outline the process.
CleanCo engaged a third party consultant, Deliberately Engaging, to coordinate panel recruitment and liaise with panel members.
The Community Co-design Panel comprised 30 people from across greater Ipswich, bringing together a diverse mix of skills, experience and local knowledge. The panel met on 27 May, 10 June and 24 June 2023 to develop the draft masterplan and vision.
Read how the co-design process unfolded.
