It’s great to see that the City of Ipswich is continuing to go from strength to strength in terms of economic development, growth and tourism, with some substantial recent milestones worth highlighting.
Costco opened its second Queensland store in Bundamba on 2 May 2019, bringing with it hundreds of new jobs for locals and a warehouse full of bargains for Ipswich shoppers and beyond.
Thousands of people from all over Southeast Queensland attended the opening, with the estimated attendance in the first week exceeding a staggering 10,000 people. It was my first visit to a Costco and I was quickly converted into a fan.
I also attended the opening of the newly expanded Karalee Shopping Centre, boasting a new flagship Coles store and a swag of local small businesses. Two hundred contractors were employed during the construction phase with an estimated 120 new permanent jobs created. More good news for the city, especially for our young people looking for their first job, with a McDonald’s soon to open there as well.
At the other end of the shopping spectrum, Ipswich Central continues to welcome new small businesses to its city heart, including the Heritage Coffee Corner which recently opened in the Ipswich Antique Centre. Some positive news for the Top of Town with the announcement that the Hotel Metropole is set to reopen as the Ipswich Central Hotel, complete with a beer garden, night club, function rooms and a bar.
The new Nicholas Street in Ipswich Central is also taking shape with kerbs, gutters and road edges, located at the entry of the future Metro retail and dining precinct, showing the early stages of the precinct’s future ‘kiss and ride’ drop-off and pick-up points and short-term parking spaces. I know it’s been a long time coming, but the CBD redevelopment is now underway.
Investment in the overall Ipswich region continues to be strong. Recent announcements from companies such as Coles, TAE Aerospace, Australia Post and Rheinmetall are expected to contribute an additional 18,200 jobs by 2023, leading to a growth rate of 11.3 per cent, which puts Ipswich amongst the state’s best performing regions for jobs growth.
Ipswich has also been heralded as a rising star of the tourism industry in Queensland. Known as the city where heritage meets adventure, new official figures show that 1.6 million visitors visited the region in 2018, an increase of 178,000 on the previous year. The city’s 35 per cent growth in domestic overnight tourism was the fastest of any region in Southeast Queensland.
It’s no secret that Ipswich is one of the fastest growing cities in the country, with 5 per cent population growth recorded last year. I know that growth provides challenges for many, but the reality is that it’s coming and it’s imperative that we capitalise on the opportunities it provides for new facilities and infrastructure.
At 31 March 2019, the population of the City of Ipswich was estimated to be 219,890, up from 218,071 persons at 31 December 2018. More than 1,800 additional people have decided to call Ipswich home just this year! No surprise that population hotspots included the growth areas of Spring Mountain, Redbank Plains, Ripley and Redbank.
With this growth comes great responsibility for your Ipswich City Council. As we progressively transform council operations towards leading practices and governance, we are on the path to ensuring that your next group of elected representatives will be in a position to lead an organisation that is up to the challenge.
