WE’RE GROWING AND WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE

LAST Saturday morning, as I was leaving the Palm Beach Farmers’ Market, I noticed a well-dressed lady holding a sign depicting an existing detached low-rise building (circa 1960s/70s) next to a proposed modern mid-rise residential development, with a question along the lines of “Do you want this in Palm Beach?” asking people to sign a petition. It made me ask myself: “If not here, where?”

But more than that, the challenge presented by the sign highlights the critical need for an important conversation led by political, industry and community leaders at all levels.

It was a timely prompt, because just the day before, the South East Queensland Regional Plan 2017, ShapingSEQ, was released by the Queensland Government.

It sets a vision and framework for managing regional growth over the next 25 years, underpinned by five themes: Grow, Prosper, Connect, Sustain and Live.

The Regional Plan projects the city’s population will grow by 351,100 over the next 25 years to just shy of 920,000.

That’s a 61 per cent increase on our current population. On the last census count, the Gold Coast had 234,639 dwellings.

To meet the expected population growth, the Regional Plan says we will need to accommodate 158,900 more. So where are all these new dwellings to go?

The Regional Plan maps out an “Urban Footprint”. Broadly speaking, outside this footprint is a “no go” zone for urban development.

So the “green behind the gold” is more than a saying, it is a reality reinforced by the Regional Plan.

In the “go zone”, Urban Footprint, the Regional Plan envisages only 20 per cent of new homes to be delivered through expansion in greenfield areas such as Coomera, Pimpama and Upper Coomera.

The balance is to be achieved through “consolidation”. In other words, 80 per cent of all new homes in the city will be new developments in existing neighbourhoods.

And the plan expects we locate this consolidation where we’re making major transport investments.

The Regional Plan expects local planning schemes like our City Plan to have at least 15 years’ supply of appropriately zoned land to meet the density demand. This means that heights and density will be different to what we are used to.

Yes, there was considerable community engagement in shaping the Regional Plan. But there’s much work to be done as we go about delivering it and finetuning its direction.

Which is why there has to be a conversation.

If there’s a disconnect between height, density and lifestyle expectations and the reality of what’s to be achieved, we can expect increasing disputation about development proposals and decisions, instead of the confidence required for government and the private sector to invest in the future of our great city.