Agenda of Economic and Cultural Development Committee

Item No.	Item Title	Page No.
	Confirmation of Minutes
1	Confirmation of Minutes of the Economic and Cultural Development Committee No. 2025(03) of 22 April 2025	7
	Officers’ Reports
2	**Nicholas Street Precinct - April 2025 Nicholas Street Precinct Project Control Group	12
3	**SEQ City Deal Public Art Initiatives	19
4	Report - Advocacy Advisory Committee No. 2025(01) of 8 May 2025	44
	Notices of Motion
	Matters Arising
	Questions / General Business

Economic and Cultural Development Committee NO. 2025(04)

20 May 2025

AGENDA

Welcome to Country or Acknowledgement of Country

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST IN MATTERS ON THE AGENDA

BUSINESS OUTSTANDING

Confirmation of Minutes

1. Confirmation of Minutes of the Economic and Cultural Development Committee No. 2025(03) of 22 April 2025

Recommendation

That the minutes of the Economic and Cultural Development Committee held on
22 April 2025 be confirmed.

Officers’ Reports

2. **Nicholas Street Precinct - April 2025 Nicholas Street Precinct Project Control Group

This is a report concerning the April 2025 Nicholas Street Precinct (NSP) Project Control Group (PCG) meeting focussing on the status of the leasing program and the planning, development, delivery and ongoing management of the NSP.

Recommendation

That the April 2025 NSP PCG Report be received and the contents noted.

3. **SEQ City Deal Public Art Initiatives

This is a report concerning viable projects for submission to the SEQ City Deal Public Art Initiatives following a public Expressions of Interest.

Recommendation

That Council receive and note two valid projects to be submitted for funding through the SEQ City Deal Public Art Initiatives.

4. Report - Advocacy Advisory Committee No. 2025(01) of 8 May 2025

This is the report of the Advocacy Advisory Committee No. 2025(01) of 8 May 2025.

Recommendation

That Council adopt the recommendations of the Advocacy Advisory Committee
No. 2025(01) of 8 May 2025.

NOTICES OF MOTION

MATTERS ARISING

QUESTIONS / GENERAL BUSINESS

Economic and Cultural Development Committee

Meeting Agenda

20 May

2025

Economic and Cultural Development Committee NO. 2025(03)

22 April 2025

Minutes

COUNCILLORS’ ATTENDANCE:

Councillor Pye Augustine (Chairperson); Councillors Marnie Doyle (Deputy Chairperson), Mayor Teresa Harding, Deputy Mayor Nicole Jonic, Jacob Madsen, Andrew Antoniolli, David Martin and Jim Madden

COUNCILLOR’S APOLOGIES:

Nil

OFFICERS’ ATTENDANCE:

Chief Executive Officer (Sonia Cooper), General Manager Community, Cultural and Economic Development (Ben Pole), General Manager Corporate Services (Matt Smith), General Manager Asset and Infrastructure Services (Seren McKenzie), Chief of Staff – Office of the Mayor (Melissa Fitzgerald), Precinct Director (James Hepburn), Manager Media, Communications and Engagement (Mark Strong), Senior Media Officer (Darrell Giles) and Theatre Technician (Thomas Haag)

Welcome to Country or Acknowledgement of Country

Councillor Marnie Doyle (Deputy Chairperson) delivered the Acknowledgement of Country

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST IN MATTERS ON THE AGENDA

In accordance with section 150EQ of the Local Government Act 2009, Deputy Mayor Nicole Jonic informed the meeting that she has a declarable conflict of interest in Item 2 titled Quarterly Event Sponsorship and Ticket Allocation Report January 2025 - March 2025.

The nature of the interest is that Deputy Mayor Jonic is a member of the executive of the Ipswich Turf Club and a Life Member of the Willowbank Raceway.

Deputy Mayor Jonic invited the other councillors to determine if she can continue to participate in the decision process.

It was moved by Councillor Pye Augustine and seconded by Councillor Marnie Doyle that Deputy Mayor Jonic may participate in the meeting in relation to the matter, including by voting on the matter as the report is a receive and note report.

The eligible councillors present at the meeting decided that Councillor Nicole Jonic may participate in the meeting in relation to the matter, including by voting on the matter.

AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE

Councillors: Councillors:

Augustine Nil

Doyle

Harding

Madsen

Antoniolli

Martin

Madden

Deputy Mayor Jonic did not take part in the vote.

The motion was put and carried.

BUSINESS OUTSTANDING

Nil

Confirmation of Minutes

1. Confirmation of Minutes of the Economic and Cultural Development Committee No. 2025(02) of 18 March 2025

Recommendation

Moved by Councillor Jim Madden:

Seconded by Councillor Marnie Doyle:

That the minutes of the Economic and Cultural Development Committee held on 18 March 2025 be confirmed.

AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE

Councillors: Councillors:

Augustine Nil

Doyle

Harding

Jonic

Madsen

Antoniolli

Martin

Madden

The motion was put and carried.

Officers’ Reports

2. Quarterly Event Sponsorship and Ticket Allocation Report January 2025 - March 2025

This is a report concerning event sponsorship approved in the period of 1 January 2025 to 31 March 2025 as required under the Event Sponsorship Policy.

Recommendation

Moved by Councillor Marnie Doyle:

Seconded by Councillor David Martin:

A. That Council receive and note the following event sponsorship allocations during the 1 January 2025 to 31 March 2025 period:

Event Sponsorship Category 2 over $15,000 (excl. GST) endorsed by Council:

· Ipswich Show Society $35,000 (excl. GST) in cash support for the 2025 Ipswich Show

· Ipswich Turf Club $20,000 (excl. GST) in cash support for the 2025 Ipswich Cup

· Willowbank Raceway Incorporated $35,000 (excl. GST) in cash support for the 2025 Gulf Western Oil Winternationals.

B. That Council receive and note the following event sponsorship ticket allocations made during the 1 January 2025 to 31 March 2025 period:

· 2025 CMC Rocks, 35 corporate hospitality tickets for advocacy and capacity building purposes.

C. That Council receive and note that no event impact study support was confirmed during the 1 January 2025 to 31 March 2025 period.

AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE

Councillors: Councillors:

Augustine Nil

Doyle

Harding

Jonic

Madsen

Antoniolli

Martin

Madden

The motion was put and carried.

Move into Closed Session

Moved by Councillor Pye Augustine:

Seconded by Councillor Andrew Antoniolli:

That in accordance with section 254J(3)(G) of the Local Government Regulation 2012, the meeting move into closed session to discuss Item 3 titled Nicholas Street Precinct – March 2025 Nicholas Street Precinct Project Control Group.

AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE

Councillors: Councillors:

Augustine Nil

Doyle

Harding

Jonic

Madsen

Antoniolli

Martin

Madden

The motion was put and carried.

The meeting moved into closed session at 12.07 pm.

Move into Open Session

Moved by Councillor Pye Augustine:

That the meeting move into open session.

AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE

Councillors: Councillors:

Augustine Nil

Doyle

Harding

Jonic

Madsen

Antoniolli

Martin

Madden

The motion was put and carried.

The meeting moved into open session at 12.14 pm.

3. Nicholas Street Precinct - March 2025 Nicholas Street Precinct Project Control Group

This is a report concerning the March 2025 Nicholas Street Precinct (NSP) Project Control Group (PCG) meeting focussing on the status of the leasing program and the planning, development, delivery and ongoing management of the NSP.

“The attachment/s to this report are confidential in accordance with section 254J(3)(g) of the Local Government Regulation 2012.”

Recommendation

Moved by Councillor Marnie Doyle:

Seconded by Mayor Teresa Harding:

That the March 2025 NSP PCG Report be received and the contents noted.

AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE

Councillors: Councillors:

Augustine Nil

Doyle

Harding

Jonic

Madsen

Antoniolli

Martin

Madden

The motion was put and carried.

NOTICES OF MOTION

Nil

MATTERS ARISING

Nil

QUESTIONS / GENERAL BUSINESS

Nil

PROCEDURAL MOTIONS AND FORMAL MATTERS

The meeting commenced at 11.59 am.

The meeting closed at 12.19 pm.

Economic and Cultural Development Committee

Meeting Agenda

20 May

2025

Doc ID No: A11537351

ITEM: 2

SUBJECT: Nicholas Street Precinct - April 2025 Nicholas Street Precinct Project Control Group

AUTHOR: Precinct Director

DATE: 2 May 2025

Executive Summary

Recommendation/s

That the April 2025 NSP PCG Report be received and the contents noted.

RELATED PARTIES

Savills Australia – Program Management

Ranbury Management Group – Program Management

Colliers – Retail Leasing

Setting up Shop – Tenancy Delivery

Alkot Studio – Retail Design Manager

ifuture Theme

Vibrant and Growing

Purpose of Report/Background

The NSP PCG supports the Economic and Cultural Development Committee in providing governance and strategic direction for the planning, development, delivery and ongoing management of the NSP. The PCG generally reports monthly to the Economic and Cultural Development Committee on the planning, development, delivery and operations of the NSP assets.

The PCG met on 23 April 2025 and the draft PCG 23 April 2025 meeting minutes are contained in Attachment 1.

The table below identifies the status of retail and commercial leasing as at 20 April 2025. Colliers are the appointed retail leasing agents and are speaking with many prospective tenants and we continue to seek active interest through existing partnerships for leasing the remaining commercial space. The changes to the table below relate to the lease for Tenancy T1 in Venue. The lessee has executed the lease and it is now with Council for lessor counter signatory execution.

Deal Status	As at 6^th May	Change from 24 March
Lease Documents Being Prepared	1	1
Lease Documents Issued for Execution	2	1
Leases Executed by Lessee	23	1
Leases Pending Approval by Lessor (Council)	1	1
Leases Executed by Lessor (Council)	22	0

Anytime Fitness commenced trade and held their grand opening event on 12 April 2025 in Tenancy T5 and T6 (corner Brisbane Street and Ellenborough Street) in the Venue Building. Greenhouse Therapies commenced trade on the 31 March and held an official opening on 2 April. All recently opened tenants are undertaking typical defect rectifications to close out fit out works. You Me & the Community continue with works at 143 Brisbane Street and propose an opening in June 2025. The tenancy design and delivery team have been working closely with prospective tenants to progress their approvals and works at both Nicholas Street Venue and Tulmur Walk in anticipation of lease executions and handovers in May.

A range of events and marketing initiatives were supported across the Precinct, contributing to a vibrant and engaging Easter community atmosphere. Key highlights included the official openings of Anytime Fitness and The Greenhouse Therapies, with marketing assistance provided from planning through to launch. The team coordinated social media campaigns, tenant communications, and managed essential maintenance and road closure notices.

Visual upgrades included fresh tenant media on display on the Tulmur Walk façade projections and bespoke content for the Tulmur Walk digital screen to support events, activations and evening trade. Marketing collateral has been refreshed, including updated leasing brochure artwork to be finalised, as well as continuation of targeted online advertising. The successful ‘Precinct Perks’ acquisition campaign rewarded new subscribers with tenant experiences. New hoarding signage has been installed on the Eats building facing the external dining areas to improve aesthetics.

April also featured a well-received and high footfall Easter activation with photo competitions, face painting, and visits from the Easter Bunny, driving strong family engagement. Planning continued for a billboard campaigns promoting Family, Events, and Dining. Digital engagement included eDMs, website articles, and a content plan for May.

A number of national industry awards including The Urban Developer and Property Council of Australia have been prepared and submitted. This has resulted in selection as a finalist in the national regeneration development of the year category and best public building and social infrastructure. The precinct saw 165,838 visitations in April, contributing to a 4% year-on-year growth, reaching over 1.66 million visitors annually.

Legal IMPLICATIONS

This report and its recommendations are consistent with the following legislative provisions:

Local Government Act 2009

Local Government Regulation 2012

policy implications

Nil

RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

A copy of the consolidated Nicholas Street Precinct project risk register is included as confidential Attachment 2.

Challenges continue with retail leasing including but not limited to COVID-19 impacts, the pace of the retail market rebound, the securing of anchor and other tenants and the attractiveness of the offer from the lessor (Council) in the current market conditions. These conditions include the increased cost of goods, consumer caution in relation to spend and the ability for the retail and hospitality industry to absorb this over time.

Achieving legally binding agreements for lease/sub-leases with prospective precinct tenants remains a critical outcome given completion of the refurbishment works.

Financial/RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS

The table below summarises the current capital project budget and forecast to finish. The final project cost is forecasted to be within budget.

	Project	Current Budget	Committed Contracts and Variations	Forecast Contracts and Variations	Forecast Final Cost
1	Civic Project	$188,020,704	$183,746,497	$142,195	$183,888,692
2	Commonwealth Hotel	$16,652,052	$16,524,627	$127,424	$16,652,052
3	Retail Project	$34,407,196	$35,238,189	$3,301,020	$38,539,209
4	Venue Project	$71,935,639	$64,331,194	$7,604,445	$71,935,639
	TOTAL	$311,015,591	$299,840,507	$11,175,084	$311,015,591

The civic and retail cashflow for recent months is captured in the table below:

Month	Monthly Expenditure	Project Cumulative Total
January 2025	Retail: $91,163 Civic: $105 Commonwealth Hotel: $7,829 Venue: $82,103	$181,200
February 2025	Retail: $59,992 Civic: $1,946 Commonwealth Hotel: -$6,339 Venue: $501,387	$556,986
March 2025	Retail: -$13,591 Civic: $3,140 Commonwealth Hotel: $5,611 Venue: $323,666	$318,825
April 2025	Retail: $16,321 Civic: $15,352 Commonwealth Hotel: $1,466 Venue: $61,619	$94,756

The retail precinct’s short-term commercial success remains dependent on identifying, attracting, and securing a commercially viable tenancy mix through executed leases. Medium to longer term success will require a comprehensive and ongoing activation and operational focused management strategy to support tenants and deliver a revitalised and fully activated precinct.

COMMUNITY and OTHER CONSULTATION

The contents of this report did not require any community consultation.

Conclusion

Recent leasing executions and approvals reinforce market confidence in the Nicholas Street Precinct product and continue to strengthen the leasing campaign to secure tenants for the NSP. The completion of works within the Venue and Commonwealth Hotel buildings and opening of anchor tenants positively reinforces Ipswich Central’s future and Council’s commitment to its success. With the completion of major works and progressive opening of additional tenancies in the precinct, the focus and attention of the NSP project team will increasingly shift to continued leasing and property management activities.

HUMAN RIGHTS IMPLICATIONS

HUMAN RIGHTS IMPACTS

RECEIVE AND NOTE REPORT

The Recommendation states that the report be received and the contents noted. The decision to receive and note the report does not limit human rights. Therefore, the decision is compatible with human rights.

Attachments and Confidential Background Papers

1.	NSP Project Control Group Meeting Minutes - 23 April 2025 ⇩

	CONFIDENTIAL
2.	Nicholas Street Precinct Redevelopment Risk Register April 2025

James Hepburn

Precinct Director

I concur with the recommendations contained in this report.

Sonia Cooper

Chief Executive Officer

“Together, we proudly enhance the quality of life for our community”

Economic and Cultural Development Committee

Meeting Agenda

20 May

2025

Doc ID No: A11541168

ITEM: 3

SUBJECT: SEQ City Deal Public Art Initiatives

AUTHOR: Coordinator, Creative Industries Development

DATE: 6 May 2025

Executive Summary

This is a report concerning viable projects for submission to the SEQ City Deal Public Art Initiatives following a public Expressions of Interest.

Recommendation/s

That Council receive and note two valid projects to be submitted for funding through the SEQ City Deal Public Art Initiatives.

RELATED PARTIES

There are no discernible related party conflicts of interest associated with this report or its recommendations.

ifuture Theme

Safe, Inclusive and Creative

Purpose of Report/Background

Background of SEQ City Deal Public Art Initiative:

· SEQ City Deal Public Art Initiative (The Initiative) provided (see attachment 1), is a commitment under the $1.8billion SEQ City Deal between the Australian Government, Queensland Government and the Council of Mayors (SEQ).

· A $10million pool was committed to The Initiative to be shared amongst all councils.

· Ipswich City Council has been allocated $810,000 in funding to deliver public art projects.

· To receive the funding Ipswich City Council must submit full concept designs for each public art project by the 30 May 2025.

To ensure the selected projects meet the eligibility requirements to receive funding, a two-stage process was implemented.

Stage 1: Request for Expressions of Interest

· Request for Expressions of Interest was opened between Wednesday 05 February 2025 and Thursday 13 March 2025 – 113 projects were received

· 33 of the applications received involved an artist with strong connections to Ipswich

· The panel of assessors shortlisted project to 13 projects

Stage 2: Request for Tender Public Art Commission

· Request for Tender Public Art Commissions was opened for the 13 projects between Monday 24 March 2025 and Tuesday 6 May 2025

· Each of the 13 projects shortlisted were offered $2,000 to support with the development of full concepts

· 12 of the 13 shortlisted proposals were received by the close date of Tuesday 6 May 2025

· The Public Art Advisory Group met on Thursday 8 May 2025 to determine recommended projects and locations

Should the funding application submitted by Ipswich City Council be successful the construction of the projects is to be completed by 31 March 2027.

Legal IMPLICATIONS

This report and its recommendations are consistent with the following legislative provisions:

Local Government Act 2009

policy implications

The matter of this report is consistent with the Procurement Policy, no other policies have been identified that would be impacted.

RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

There is a low risk the projects will not be approved by the Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning who are overseeing the SEQ City Deal project.

Financial/RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS

Ipswich City Council has been allocated $810,000 through the SEQ City Deal Public Art Initiatives which will fund the cost of delivering both projects, concept development and project management.

COMMUNITY and OTHER CONSULTATION

The Ipswich Arts Advisory Group (IAAG) were consulted on the approach to seek Expressions of Interest and agreed with the process.

The Request for Expressions of Interest was advertised in Ipswich Local Newspapers (Ipswich News Today, Local Ipswich News), ArtsHub website and through Meta (Instagram and Facebook). Additionally, the opportunity was shared on Ipswich First, Linkedin, at the Creators Summit, Ipswich and through electronic direct mail.

A Shape Your Ipswich page was developed to support with applicants by providing easy to access details on the opportunity, offer additional support for organisations that artists can engage with for their proposal and allow for a transparent Q&A from interested parties.

The Shape Your Ipswich Page was viewed 2,763 times by 1,160 unique visitors during the Request for Expressions of Interest stage.

The Public Art Advisory Group consists of nine members.

Mark Tendys	Ipswich City Architect	Council Officer
Mark Bastin	Open Space Team Lead	Council Officer
Reece Wenzel	Senior Landscape Architect	Council Officer
Claire Sourgnes	Ipswich Art Gallery Director	Council Officer
Eliza Tee	Arts Administrator and Design	External
Michael Rayner	Architect	External
David Hatherly	Landscape Architect	External
Conor Evers	Landscape Architect	External
Gabrielle Bergman	Curator	External

Conclusion

The process to source proposals and concepts for public artwork to be submitted for the SEQ City Deals Public Art Initiatives program has delivered two viable Ipswich projects.

HUMAN RIGHTS IMPLICATIONS

HUMAN RIGHTS IMPACTS

RECEIVE AND NOTE REPORT

Attachments and Confidential Background Papers

1.	Applicant Guidelines SEQ City Deal Public Art Initiatives ⇩

	CONFIDENTIAL
2.	DD Concept
3.	HG Concept
4.	Public Art Advisory Group Comments

Courtney Strow

Coordinator, Creative Industries Development

I concur with the recommendations contained in this report.

Claire Sourgnes

Director, Ipswich Art Gallery

I concur with the recommendations contained in this report.

Don Stewart

Manager, Community and Cultural Services

I concur with the recommendations contained in this report.

Ben Pole

General Manager (Community, Cultural and Economic Development)

“Together, we proudly enhance the quality of life for our community”

INTRODUCTION

RECOMMENDATION

Attachments and Confidential Background Papers