In August 2016, lord mayor Graham Quirk announced new incentives to attract more aged care and retirement facilities to Brisbane, including considering proposals on privately owned sport and recreation zones.

Despite more than 1800 submissions opposing Retire Australia’s 94-unit retirement village at the Tarragindi Bowls Club, the council gave the development the green light on January 24, making it the first facility approved on privately owned sport and recreation land in Brisbane under the council’s incentive.

The council’s city planning chairman, Julian Simmonds, said the incentive was introduced to meet the urgent need for aged care and retirement facilities to keep pace with the city’s ageing population.

“Under the aged care and retirement incentive council will consider proposals for privately owned sport and recreation land but only where there is a clear community benefit as part of the development," he said.

“Council also understands that many private sporting clubs across Brisbane are facing financial pressures and redevelopment of part of a sporting site for aged care or retirement living may help clubs remain financially viable into the future.”

On the back of the Tarragindi approval, several aged-care providers are eyeing off similar opportunities across Brisbane, including at Carindale, Coorparoo and Ashgrove.

Opposition planning spokesman Jared Cassidy said Labor had serious concerns about sport and recreation land being offered to developers as part of an incentive.

“Sport and recreation land should be sacred. It is already at a premium as Brisbane undergoes unprecedented growth,” Cr Cassidy said.

“Any land lost is lost forever.

“Losing sport and recreation land disadvantages the entire community including the people who have moved into the aged care facilities.”

Bowls Queensland state president Peter Williamson said sports clubs were struggling financially and welcome development on the bowls sites as it would make them viable into the future.

“Anything that keeps bowls alive and keeps clubs open is always welcomed by Bowls Queensland,” he said.

Mr Williamson said aged-care on bowls club sites was win-win as it kept the sites open while also providing a well-located place for people to retire.

Following the approval at Tarragindi, Retire Australia is already planning a similar development, this time at the Ashgrove Golf Club.

RetireAustralia did not respond to requests for comment about their plans for Ashgrove, but it is understood it intends to build 154 retirement units on the land and also deliver a new clubhouse for members.

RetireAustralia chief executive Alison Quinn said declining memberships and engagement in bowls meant many clubs found it difficult to stay afloat.

Applications for two aged care facilities on land zones sport and recreation in Brisbane’s south-east are also likely to be lodged in 2018.

Aura has been in discussions with Bowls Queensland and Coorparoo Bowls Club about building an 80-unit complex of up to eight or nine stories on the site.

Aura co-founder Mark Taylor said while it was still early days they were committed to finding a solution for the longevity of the club.

“It’s all about the sustainability of bowls ... as part of any design we would incorporate the retention of two bowls greens as well as being Bowls Queensland Centre of Excellence and Training,” he said.

“It’s very much about preserving the game there with a co-located retirement facility.”

Mr Taylor said Aura had a long-term vision to work with clubs so people could relocate within their suburbs.

“Often sports clubs have got good locations, to us we see that clubs need assistance, they need to broaden their financial and service offering and we actually see the partnership as very good business,” he said.

Mr Taylor rebutted council opposition’s claims and said the status quo can’t remain.

“You’ve got clubs who need to amend their business models to survive, I see what we’re doing as a very good alternative.

“We’re not just doing things because there is a Brisbane City Council policy ... we’ve targeted sites that we think are going to be good sites long term and make a sustainable club and retirement village.”

Reside Communities has collaborated with Pacific Golf Club at Carindale to propose delivering a 180-unit retirement village of up to five storeys along with an upgrade to the club, including a driving range and putt-putt.

At a meeting of Pacific Golf Club members in late 2017, 89 per cent voted in support of the development after the club explained in order to ensure long-term financial stability the club had to move to a position where revenue was generated from several sources.

Reside Communities chief executive and director Glen Brown said most sport and recreation clubs were land rich and cash flow poor.

“We need to be pragmatic about how we’re going to preserve it [sport and recreation land] and this initiative by Graham Quirk is a wonderful initiative,” he said.

“If you’re 75 or 80 years of age and you’ve lived in a suburb for 30 or 40 years if not more, that’s where you want to retire to, you want security, you want your community.

Mr Brown said the lord mayor’s incentive brought reduced infrastructure charges and other benefits but was not the main driver for the proposed development.

“What we’re trying to do is do this first one [Carindale] the best we can and try and recognise all the stakeholders," he said.

“If we do this right with the community, council, members and our residents all happy and motivated to be part of it we are a long way home and that is something we will then take forward.

“If we had a number of very good sport and rec co-developments with retirement villages starting in Brisbane you will get community support and we will be able to collectively, as an industry, keep doing them.

“I think we just have to be patient and do it right.”

However, collaboration with retirement and aged-care providers would not 100 per cent guarantee the longevity of the sports clubs as they could still find themselves in financial difficulty following the boost from the developers.

Cr Simmonds urged the state government to approve aged care and retirement amendments to the city plan that were submitted in December 2016, but said the council would assess applications for the developments on privately-owned sport and recreation land with or without the amendments.