South-East Queensland’s regional centres want to accelerate housing delivery as Moreton Bay and the Sunshine Coast councils reveal major planning changes to tackle housing targets.
Major changes on the cards include significant increases to building heights and residential density.
Moreton Bay council’s draft Future Directions Report outlines substantial development plans for Morayfield and parts of Caboolture South over the next decade.
The Moreton Bay region must accommodate 308,300 more people and 125,800 more homes by 2046 under the ShapingSEQ plan.
Mayor Peter Flannery said Morayfield was ideal for increased density due to existing infrastructure.
“As South-East Queensland continues to flourish, it’s time we had a conversation about housing density and building heights in well-serviced suburbs like Morayfield,” Flannery said.
“We need to find places to house those people without encroaching on the beautiful rural and natural spaces that make City of Moreton Bay a desirable place to live.”
Meanwhile, Sunshine Coast Council has progressed a Temporary Local Planning Instrument for Birtinya Town Centre that would increase maximum building heights from 10 to 15 storeys, with six designated sites capped at 12 storeys.
The changes aim to reallocate population quotas from fully developed areas of Kawana Waters.
“Birtinya Town Centre is an ideal location to provide more residential density as it already has the infrastructure capacity to support additional development,” Sunshine Coast councillor Tim Burns said.
The proposal includes a 60 per cent increase in green space, adding more than 9000sq m of parkland.
The Morayfield plan establishes three distinct precincts: Centre North will transition from light industry to high-density residential; Morayfield Central will maintain retail and health services while adding residential density; and Morayfield Station will focus on transit-oriented development.
Development activity is already under way across these regions. The planning changes reflect broader regional growth pressures, with Queensland experiencing higher rates of senior internal migration across capital and regional areas.
Stockland has unveiled plans for Rivermont, a 2050-home development on a 175ha site. This marks Stockland’s third masterplanned community in Moreton Bay, following Newport and Kinma Valley.
“Rivermont will contribute to Queensland’s urgent housing needs by providing more than 2000 homes,” Stockland general manager, Queensland development, David Laner said.
The development includes homesites from 124 to 940sq m and a 15ha Halcyon over-50s community.
Stockland’s Halcyon Serrata development reflects the region’s ageing demographic, which Stockland research indicates is projected to grow by 1.9 per cent a year over the next decade—outpacing overall population growth by 0.4 per cent.
Major developers are advancing projects at Waraba, formerly Caboolture West, which was recently declared a Priority Development Area.
It is hoped the designation in Waraba, 7.5km west of Morayfield, will eventually result in 30,000 new homes built in the area.
Lennium Group’s Lilywood Landings estate, comprising 705 lots, sold its first 150 lots within weeks of its launch.
The broader Waraba vision includes 970ha of green space, nine state primary schools, four secondary schools, and significant employment precincts planned for completion by 2041.
Lennium Group development manager Ian Worthington said the PDA status would “ensure there is a coordinated approach to future planning for all of Waraba”.
Councils are now focusing on implementation of the strategies. Moreton Bay’s Future Directions Report is open for community consultation until March 3, 2025, and Birtinya’s TLPI is awaiting ministerial approval.
