Redland residents fume over Olympic whitewater rafting facility

On Wednesday night it was announced Brisbane would be the host city for the 2032 Olympic Games.

Redland City Council has backed the Olympics proposal on the grounds that it would get associated infrastructure.

This would include a whitewater centre to host canoe slalom events, which will eventually become a community adventure park. It will also be a training site for first responders, including swift-water rescue.

Residents have raised concerns that the venue will become an economic millstone around the necks of ratepayers after the Games.

They also have complained that during the council's consultation period, a whitewater and adventure sports facility ranked eighth of 21 options in an online survey and ninth of 45 in the in-person engagement activities.

Capalaba resident Amy Glade said she was disgusted by the sham consultation process which seemingly ignored the opinions of locals.

"It's exciting for Brisbane to get these Olympics, but I really am expecting the worst," Ms Glade said.

"I am so angry that they had us go onto the site and set up whiteboards for us to have our say about what should be on the land when in reality they had already decided what it would be."

Wellington Point resident Debbie Swain said Brisbane's win was Redland's loss, and it was unfortunate heritage would be demolished to make way for the Olympic venue.

"We all need this kind of happy news at the moment, but people aren't thinking about the big picture, it's going to be wasted after the games," she said.

"There is already a functioning whitewater rafting centre in Penrith used during the Sydney Olympics in 2000. It's just one event, why can't we host it there?

"The council plans to destroy this heritage site in Birkdale, but we need to keep the land as natural and informative for our future. We need to keep it true."

A council spokesperson said the whitewater centre would only take up a small section of a larger sports area on the 62 hectare site that included an Olympic standard pool. It stacked up economically without the Olympics and would contribute $52 million annually to our city.

"It received support from the community, particularly our younger people, and will not impact heritage or environmental values," she said. "It will actually support other components of the Birkdale Community Precinct including the heritage buildings on site.

She said with the warm climate it was expected to attract swift water rescue teams from across the southern hemisphere, and would be the stimulus for much-needed transport infrastructure for Redlands, including the eastern busway and duplication of the Cleveland railway line.

Ms Glade said the land would be better used to celebrate Birkdale's Aboriginal, WWII, farming and natural heritage, attract tourism, and become a place where the community could come together.

"This Commonwealth land which is supposed to be for all of us to use will be ruined by this facility. Ripping up heritage land for a two-week event? That's not right," Ms Glade said.

"It's a heritage site, and once it's gone we can't get it back, so we need to look beyond the Olympics. I would hate to see history buried under water."