Brisbane City Council acted 'reasonably' in park land deal at Tennyson Reach, Ombudsman finds CLEARED: Brisbane City Council acted "reasonably" during negotiations over a park land deal at Tennyson Reach, the Queensland Ombudsman has found. BRISBANE City Council acted "reasonably" during negotiations over a park land deal at Tennyson Reach, the Queensland Ombudsman has found. Phil Clarke's findings are contained in a report released on Wednesday, almost one year after Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk referred the $15 million deal involving the high-profile piece of flooded land to the CMC. It followed a Seven News investigation which revealed council entered in to an agreement with developer Mirvac before the land ‑ now known as Ken Fletcher Park ‑ was independently valued. The watchdog passed information on to the Ombudsman's office after finding no evidence of official misconduct. Documents show, following the 2011 floods, developer Mirvac offered to sell BCC land at Tennyson, which it had planned to develop as an extension to its Tennyson Reach development, for $15 million in exchange for the developer constructing a park. By May 2011 BCC and Mirvac had established a memorandum of understanding in which the council conditionally agreed to pay $15 million, including $6 million for the land and $9 million for the park to be constructed on that land. Cr Quirk held a news conference at the site on June 5 where he announced the council was spending $12 million on the new park, subject to negotiations, as part of its 2011-12 budget. But a valuation report later that month found the land alone had a pre-flood valuation of $9 million. The parties subsequently changed the terms of the deal so the land would be worth $9 million and the park $6 million. Despite some allegations Council had paid an inflated price for the land, Mr Clarke's report found based on advice from another property valuer "the valuation correctly assessed the highest and best use" and "the 2011 flood event was properly recognised and, on balance, was most likely accommodated in the assessed value." A release accompanying the report said it was "outside the scope of the investigation to consider whether the Council could have achieved a better final outcome in the transaction negotiations, as any consideration of this issue would have been, by its very nature, largely speculative." The report found Brisbane City Council "acted reasonably regarding the purchase of the land and for the contracting of the design and construction of the parkland." At the time concerns were raised, Cr Quirk said he had found no evidence of wrongdoing but welcomed an independent investigation to clear the air. This morning he welcomed the Ombudsman's report. "I always said this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to secure a large portion of riverfront land for the local community and surrounding suburbs," he said. I welcome the Ombudsman's findings that confirm that Council followed all reasonable steps and rejects any claims to the contrary.