Sunshine Coast Growth to Reshape Region

Population growth and more diverse types of housing are shaping Sunshine Coast Council’s vision to create a new 10-year planning scheme for the region.

Brisbane’s northern neighbour is experiencing a post-Covid development boom with a surge in investment and development activity in the area.

Sunshine Coast Council director of major projects Debra Robinson will discuss the new scheme as part of The Urban Developer’s In Focus webinar on Thursday, 18 February.

Robinson will be joined by Walker Corporation director Peter Saba, SunCentral chief executive John Knaggs and Cube Development’s Scott Juniper on a panel to explore Australia’s “most compelling” growth story.

With house prices up 10.2 per cent on 2019, rental vacancy is tight and listings remain at record lows.

The new planning scheme will address supply constraints, replacing the 2014 plans and is expected to take three years to create with extensive input from the community, development industry and the state government.

It will apply to the land from Beerburrum to Eumundi and around Maleny with the exception of the state government regulated Caloundra South and the Maroochydore City Centre.

Mayor Mark Jamieson said the new plan for 2024 will need to respond to emerging issues such as implications of the Covid-19, the predicted impacts of climate change and new technologies.

“A lot can change in 10 years, but one thing that remains constant is the importance of maintaining our region’s identity, character and lifestyle,” Jamieson said.

“Here on the Sunshine Coast, we’ve been experiencing growth for some decades now—it’s not something new.

“We cannot escape the fact that people move to the coast to enjoy our laid-back lifestyle, community spirit and of course, our spectacular beaches and hinterland.

“We have seen our Sunshine Coast transform from a collection of small towns to a connected healthy, smart, creative region, yet we’ve still managed to retain a sense of a community of communities.

“The planning scheme is, and will continue to be, the key tool to assist council in responding to growth management challenges.”

The next steps in the plan this year include preliminary public consultation and preparation of a proposed planning scheme before it goes to the state government for review.

The vision for the scheme, emerging zones, significant developments in the region and pathways to engagement are some of the topics to be covered during the In Focus: Sunshine Coast webinar.

To register or for more information on this upcoming event, click here.