Councillors on the plonkism Photo: Woods Bagots Architects The opposition called it "plonkism," but Brisbane's City Council's administration on Tuesday approved the Queensland government's 45-storey William Street development. The $653 million proposal for the building, to house 7600 public servants and other staff near the Parliamentary Annexe, will now go ahead and be finished by late 2016. "This will be the largest commercial development in Queensland," Neighbourhood Planning chair Amanda Cooper said last night. The vote was 19 in favour, seven Labor councillors against the project, while Tennyson's independent councillor Nicole Johnston abstained. Liberal National Party councillors described it as the beginning of new life for the George Street end of the city, while Labor said not enough time had been allowed for planners to solve traffic problems. Labor says William Street was a major bus waiting zone and the William Street application did not explain where Brisbane's buses will wait for their bus routes to start. They argued service vehicles had to run along the service road beside the Alice Street on-ramp, towards Queensland University of Technology and turn back sharply to get under the new building. Gabba councillor Helen Abrahams said it was not desirable that over-sized trucks, pedestrians, workers and cyclists would move through a shared space at the base of the development. "I would suggest that this is the best example of plonkism, where you simply plonk a building on a site, that we have seen in a long, long time," she said. Cr Abrahams said planners had concentrated on the building. "It has not been on how any of the modes of traffic get into this building," she said. Cr Abrahams also questioned advice that cyclists would use a laneway beside the QUT CityCat terminal from the Bicentennial Bikeway to get to the building. Cr Cooper said Labor were raising issues that were "simply not issues." She said she remembered Cr Abrahams' enthusiasm when former Labor premier Anna Bligh suggested a 40-storey building on the Go Print site at Woolloongabba, despite potential traffic problems. Cr Cooper said Cr Abrahams also supported the ABC being "plonked" at South Bank Parklands. "I don't think that is a good outcome," she said. I think 'plonkism', to use Cr Abraham's terminology, would describe the ABC site at South Bank. Cr Cooper said the William Street development required a construction management plan and cyclists were offered good opportunities to get into the building. "Officers have been very careful to see how bicycle riders can get on the site, how they can get into the facility," she said. Those bicycles can actually get through pedestrianised environments, as they get through King George Square, as they get through Reddacliff Place. They actually seem to be able to manage that quite nicely. The Queensland government chose the Cbus Property development from 13 tenders, with six companies shortlisted. The site has been designated for state government development since 1974. The government will take out a 99-year lease on their portion of the 90,000 square metre of floor space. "The land has been vacant for a very long time and has recently been used as a car park," Cr Cooper said. It is a very significant site in terms of being an entry point to our city and I think it is great to see something of great merit going onto the site to achieve a great outcome.