A vacant lot of conservation land behind the Victoria Point Town Centre shopping complex is likely to be bulldozed for a car park.
The development is expected to pave the way for shopping centre owner Lancini to then build a multi-storey office block on the site.
In a letter this month to nearby residents, the office of State Development Minister Dr Anthony Lynham said the government had agreed to sell the land, currently under Redland City Council trusteeship, to Lancini.
Dr Lynham said a "concurrent" request from council for Redland to hand trusteeship of the land back to the state ahead of the sale could not be refused.
"An assessment of the (Town Centre) application determined that the most appropriate use of the land is for it to be consolidated into the adjoining retail centre," the letter said.
Teak Lane and Sycamore Parade residents whose properties back on to the park, were disgusted with the outcome.
The 4841sq m land was dedicated to Redland ratepayers in 2006 after a 2002 Planning and Environment Court order stipulated it be used for environmental and community recreation purposes and as a buffer zone to the shopping centre.
The court made the land reserve a condition before Lancini could build its Cleveland-Redland Bay shopping complex.
The car park proposal sparked a wrangle between residents, the state and council in December as the land is protected from development under the conservation zoning.
Victoria Point resident Maria Sealy said she first heard the conservation land would be sold for development when she met with Lancini and council representatives in August.
She said it was "strange" Lancini was able to put in a request to buy the land at exactly the same time as council notified the state it wanted to relinquish its trusteeship.
"We were of the understanding that the state had advised council to consult with the community but this, to date, has not occurred," she said.
"The department has also advised us that any future development on that site will be impact assessable and require a council development application, which will need public consultation."
Mayor Karen Williams said the state had never told council to consult residents as it was not council’s role to sell ]the land which is state land.
Redland council said it wanted to relinquish its trusteeship of the land because of public safety issues.
Council voted to relinquish control of the land in October 2014.
A council spokesman said the land was not council owned and its use and ownership were matters for the state to determine.
Council told the State Development Department the land was no longer of environmental or community use and was a burden on the ratepayer keeping it safe.
“The decision to sell this land was taken by the state government. While they say they could not stop the relinquishment of the parcel, they did make the decision to sell. They did not have to make that decision; they could have opted for some other use of the land,” the council spokesman said.
Ms Sealy said no action had been taken by state, council or Lancini since January to combat crime in the park and residents had been maintaining the grass for more than 20 years.
