Brisbane City Council has spent $132 million purchasing a bus depot in Sherwood, after selling the land in 2009 for $21 million and leasing a purpose-built depot from its private owners ever since.

The council's decision to sell the land and lease the depot after it was built was a highly contentious issue that fractured relations between the LNP administration and then-LNP councillor Nicole Johnston.

Cr Johnston left the party in 2010 and remains an independent councillor for the Tennyson Ward, garnering more than 70 per cent of the vote in the 2020 elections.

In 2009, the council had budgeted $70 million to construct the depot after buying land on Sherwood Road for $16.5 million.

However, it later decided to sell the land to a private company, Morstem No.1 Pty Ltd, for $21 million.

Morstem constructed the bus depot on the 58,250 square metre site and in 2012 the council signed a 25-year lease on the site.

Documents show the council paid $6.3 million rent for the depot last year, with a 3.5 per cent rent review per annum and all outgoings on the site paid by the council.

Buy-back 'financially responsible'

In November, Brisbane City Council announced it had decided to buy back the depot, after Morstem was approached by a third party interested in buying the site.

Part of the council's sale to Morstem in 2009 included a first-right-of-refusal clause should the site ever be returned to market, triggered by the third party's approach in October 2020.

The acquisition was approved by the council in December, but the total purchase price was listed in council documents as commercial-in-confidence.

During the council's debate over the purchase in December, Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the decision to buy the site back was "financially responsible".

"The Sherwood bus depot is one of our most important depots strategically in the network and it is an important asset," Cr Schrinner said at the time.

"Because of the foresight that we had a decade ago, we now have the opportunity to buy this site back with significant improvements.

Purchase criticised

At Tuesday's council meeting, Cr Johnston questioned the council's decision, pointing to quarterly financial documents tabled in the meeting that allocated nearly $132 million to the bus depot purchase.

Cr Johnston said the funds put toward the purchase should have been spent on basic infrastructure such as footpaths and flood mitigation needed in her ward.

"This is the second time we've bought it. Do you know what I could do with $132 million in our ward? Pretty much every project I've ever wanted to do."

Cr Johnston said the council's decision in 2009 to sell the site "wasn't in the best interests of the city".

"Now it's doing a second financial transaction that isn't in the best interests of the city," she told the chamber.

Opposition leader Jared Cassidy also criticised the purchase when the council had scrapped kerbside collection until 2022 as a $13 million cost-saving measure during the pandemic.