By Craig Johnstone
Article from:
July 29, 2009 12:00am
SOUTHEAST Queensland will need to build an average of 93 homes each day for 20 years to accommodate an expected explosion in population growth.
A radical new plan by the Bligh Government to combat urban sprawl says half this new development will have to go alongside existing housing rather than on greenfield sites.
The redrafted South East Queensland Regional Plan has forecast the region will need an extra 754,000 homes to help accommodate a population of 4.4 million by 2031.
But the plan discourages the traditional fix for increased population – new housing estates on the city outskirts – in favour of "infill" development in established suburbs and around rail and bus corridors to limit car use.
Suburbs such as Indooroopilly, Carindale, Cleveland and Chermside, as well as coastal centres such as Maroochydore and Southport are scheduled for increased residential densities of up 120 dwellings per hectare. Other suburbs such as Wynnum and Strathpine will be transformed into compact urban living areas along the lines of Fortitude Valley.
Much of the new housing development will be pushed away from the coast and into the so-called western corridor, which could see the population of the City of Ipswich approach 500,000 in the next 20 years, more than triple what it is now.
About 900ha of land in the Redlands area has been locked away for development to protect koala habitat.
Planning and Infrastructure MInister Stirling Hinchliffe said 85 per cent of the region remained protected from development under the plan.
"The plan would manage growth, not just accommodate it," he said.
Developers have scored several wins, with the Government identifying areas outside the so-called "urban footprint" as possible future sites for housing. One of these areas, a parcel of land at Halls Creek between Caloundra and Caboolture, has sparked fears among local councils that valuable green space could be lost.
Some Queensland mayors yesterday expressed anger that the Government had failed to properly brief them on the plan before releasing it to the media.
Lord Mayor Campbell Newman said the city faced a major challenge to find room for 156,000 new dwellings.
"People have said they don't want a sardine city but we can't stop people coming here."
Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay mayors Bob Abbot and Allan Sutherland slammed the plan, saying it would replace green space with industry.
They were particularly critical of the Government's decision to investigate urban expansion in the green belt that separates Greater Brisbane from the Sunshine Coast.
"These crucial areas should be protected for future generations, it's nothing short of a tragedy," Cr Sutherland said.
Urban Development Institute of Australia chief executive officer Brian Stewart called for compensation for developers prevented from building on land they owned.
Article from:
July 29, 2009 12:00am
SOUTHEAST Queensland will need to build an average of 93 homes each day for 20 years to accommodate an expected explosion in population growth.
A radical new plan by the Bligh Government to combat urban sprawl says half this new development will have to go alongside existing housing rather than on greenfield sites.
The redrafted South East Queensland Regional Plan has forecast the region will need an extra 754,000 homes to help accommodate a population of 4.4 million by 2031.
But the plan discourages the traditional fix for increased population – new housing estates on the city outskirts – in favour of "infill" development in established suburbs and around rail and bus corridors to limit car use.
Suburbs such as Indooroopilly, Carindale, Cleveland and Chermside, as well as coastal centres such as Maroochydore and Southport are scheduled for increased residential densities of up 120 dwellings per hectare. Other suburbs such as Wynnum and Strathpine will be transformed into compact urban living areas along the lines of Fortitude Valley.
Much of the new housing development will be pushed away from the coast and into the so-called western corridor, which could see the population of the City of Ipswich approach 500,000 in the next 20 years, more than triple what it is now.
About 900ha of land in the Redlands area has been locked away for development to protect koala habitat.
Planning and Infrastructure MInister Stirling Hinchliffe said 85 per cent of the region remained protected from development under the plan.
"The plan would manage growth, not just accommodate it," he said.
Developers have scored several wins, with the Government identifying areas outside the so-called "urban footprint" as possible future sites for housing. One of these areas, a parcel of land at Halls Creek between Caloundra and Caboolture, has sparked fears among local councils that valuable green space could be lost.
Some Queensland mayors yesterday expressed anger that the Government had failed to properly brief them on the plan before releasing it to the media.
Lord Mayor Campbell Newman said the city faced a major challenge to find room for 156,000 new dwellings.
"People have said they don't want a sardine city but we can't stop people coming here."
Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay mayors Bob Abbot and Allan Sutherland slammed the plan, saying it would replace green space with industry.
They were particularly critical of the Government's decision to investigate urban expansion in the green belt that separates Greater Brisbane from the Sunshine Coast.
"These crucial areas should be protected for future generations, it's nothing short of a tragedy," Cr Sutherland said.
Urban Development Institute of Australia chief executive officer Brian Stewart called for compensation for developers prevented from building on land they owned.
