Development blueprint to show Logan, Brisbane to carry housing, population burden

A development blueprint, due to be released today, will reflect startling population growth figures released this week showing Logan and Brisbane will carry much of the housing load.

Logan, south of Brisbane, is expected to be a major target for housing growth in an updated version of the SEQ Regional plan, due for release today.

The plan, a blueprint for development across the southeast over the next 25 years, sets out where and how development will be rolled out.

Residents and businesses will have six weeks to lodge submissions about the plan and its scope for development and infrastructure leading up to the Olympics in 2032.

The updated document is expected to show Logan will grow almost as quickly as its neighbouring Ipswich, with thousands of hectares expected to be earmarked for development.

Logan already has two state government Priority Development Areas, known as PDAs, at Yarrabilba and Flagstone and it is expected others will be planned for the southeast.

Logan’s Yarrabilba was a Priority Development Area. Picture: Google Earth

The document will reflect state government population statistics released this week, predicting the southeast will be home to nearly 6 million people by 2046.

According to the data released by Planning Minister Steven Miles on Sunday and Monday, Logan will experience an 88.74 per cent population growth by 2046, the highest of all 12 southeast regions.

Under the highest case population scenario, which was reported on Monday, Logan City Council’s population would almost double to 662,000 people, while Moreton Bay Council would see a 62 per cent rise with 787,000 people calling it home in two decades’ time.

Logan is expected to become home to an extra 122,126 people over the two decades with a total population of about 662,000 by 2046.

However, under a lower case scenario, Logan’s population may climb to 463,532 people, a rise of 32 per cent by 2046.

Brisbane will also play a part in providing housing with the statistics showing 117,852 people predicted to move to the capital by 2046.

Logan will take the population burden off Ipswich, where growth is expected to rise from the current 233,300 people to 528,000 while Moreton Bay Council’s population is expected to grow from 484,428 to 787,000.

The SEQ Regional Plan will set out a blueprint for the state to tackle the housing crisis and expected population growth.

Redland City Council, which has had a running stoush with the state government over its housing policy, will also have to cater for a 15.44 per cent increase in population by 2046.

In the 2017 update, land in southern Thornlands was highlighted as a possibility for development along with acreage blocks at Redland Bay.

Redland is also expected to be a growth area with the city allocating a large tract of land for an Olympic whitewater rafting venue, with the SEQ Regional plan expected to reference that project.

State government data released this week showed the popular bayside city’s current population of 161,730 bulging to a predicted 212,000, which equates to approximately an extra 1000 people a year until 2046.

The SEQ Regional Plan is unlikely to map out where necessary infrastructure, such as parks, sports fields, sewerage plants, hospitals and schools should be sited.