Call to upgrade 'dire' SES depot

Moreton Bay City Council is calling for State Government funding to urgently upgrade the Deception Bay SES Depot and Emergency Operations Centre.

The community-built facility at Old Bay Rd faces barriers to daily operations including storage issues and outdated facilities, and ‘no longer meets operational or training demands for the city’.

Mayor Peter Flannery says the dire state of the 1985 ‘shed’ is a blight on the award-winning local SES which services the third largest council area in Australia.

“The Deception Bay SES Group is in the top two per cent of busiest SES groups in Queensland and the city has had a 182 per cent increase in SES service requests over the year, yet they are working from a poor-quality shed.
“This facility supports over 80,000 residents in the immediate area in addition to being a base for deployments across the city and Queensland when disaster strikes our community.
“Last year alone, the Deception Bay SES Group directly answered more than 250 requests for assistance in their primary response area as well as working across three large-scale weather events locally resulting in over 500 requests for assistance from Moreton Bay residents, including the flooding at the beginning of 2024.
“Moreton Bay SES and Deception Bay Group also provided a large amount of support over multiple deployments of SES members, assets, and resources to, Cairns, Cooktown, Mossman, Port Douglas, and Townsville in the states north and Scenic Rim, Logan, and Gold Coast in the states south during last summer on top concurrent local operations.

“As we move into severe weather season, and on the back of climate change and the relentless pace of emergencies and disasters such as the severe flooding and storm events we experienced earlier in the year, this is now desperate.”

The Deception Bay SES Group is part of the broader Moreton Bay SES Group with a cohort of more than 270 volunteers.
The Moreton Bay SES Group was recently named State SES Unit/Group of the year for 2023.

“We want to work in partnership with the State to deliver first class SES facilities and have shown this through Council’s commitment of over $3 million already,” Mayor Flannery says.
“We need the political parties to step up and support this team of critical volunteers with an ongoing financial commitment.
“The building is shovel ready. We own the land, we’ve done the scoping, and we’ve done the plans including renders. 
“We have committed 50/50 to fund this critical SES Depot and Emergency Operations Centre.
“Council has allocated $3.75 million to the redevelopment in the 2024-25 budget. Council has already committed over $300,000 in design and development costs. Plus, annually Council continues to commit over $650,000 of SES operational expenditure.
“As our population rapidly grows, and based on our large area, that includes areas of severe fire risk, coastal issues and flooding hazards, we need to ensure Moreton Bay SES continues to lead in SES service delivery.”
The proposed Deception Bay SES Depot and Emergency Operations Centre redevelopment would include:

• Creation of a modern, purpose-built training facility, enabling training in high-risk activities
• Nine-bay vehicle garage including three double-depth drive through bays
• New shared expanded carpark with the Dragons Football Club
• Accommodation and support services
• Regeneration of koala habitat