Mount Coot-tha is set to undergo a major transformation, with Brisbane City Council appointing Brisbane Sustainability Agency to deliver a new long-term master plan focused on sustainable tourism, nature-based experiences and post-quarry rehabilitation. At its heart, the plan aims to make Mt Coot-tha more accessible, more exciting and even more loved by locals and visitors alike.

West of the Brisbane CBD and home to the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha, the Summit Lookout and the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium, the precinct is a popular southeast Queensland landmark. It attracts a million visitors a year, according to the Brisbane City Council.

The landmark initiative, timed to align with the lead-up to the 2032 Olympic Games, would explore a wide range of new attractions including a 170-kilometre wilderness trail, eco-accommodation, a reimagined Tropical Dome and an immersive night-time light experience in the Botanic Gardens.

Inspired by celebrated green tourism destinations such as Gardens by the Bay in Singapore and Butchart Gardens in Canada, the Mount Coot-tha master plan would seek to elevate the precinct to a globally recognisable attraction, while retaining its ecological and cultural significance.

“We want the world to discover Brisbane and fall in love with its lifestyle and natural attractions. I believe Mount Coot-tha presents an incredible opportunity for nature-based destinations and attractions, which is exactly what international visitors are looking for," siad Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner.

The gardens and planetarium were built in the 1970s, and the ageing infrastructure of the precinct has long been earmarked for redevelopment. Improvements to the summit lookout, a “re-imagining” of the planetarium, and new and improved picnic areas and mountain bike tracks are also being considered. The project will also lay out a long-term plan to transform the Mount Coot-tha quarry, which has been in operation since the mid 1890s.