State leaves developers in limbo over Thornlands priority development area
Frustrated landowners say important housing projects have been put on ice for more than six months while the state government decides how it will assess and control planning in the area.
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The state government is considering taking planning control over hundreds of hectares of land in an effort to solve a housing shortage on Brisbane’s bayside.
Top-level government officials were considering designating 890ha of land in Southern Thornlands as a priority area for development.
Under such a designation, all development applications would sidestep local government assessments and be fast-tracked for approval under state government guidelines.
But landowners from the suburb say the state government is keeping them in limbo with the planning decisions about the designations for their land kept secret.
Their pleas for the land to be opened up for housing follow a $100 million state government funding boost to local councils on Wednesday for the delivery of critical housing and local infrastructure.
The funding will be available to Redland council, one of 12 councils to receive the help under the South East Queensland Community Stimulus Program.
In December, the state stirred developers and landowners after it put the massive tract of land into the urban footprint, giving it the green light for housing following a state report finding a shortage of residential land in Redland up until 2046.
But since then, State Development and Planning Minister Grace Grace has made no decision about which level of government — state or the Redland City Council – would be the assessment authority of the land and govern planning approvals.
If the land is designated as a Priority Development Area, known as a PDA, developers are obliged to allocate 30 per cent of the development to social and affordable housing.
Redland city had state government priority development areas declared at Toondah Harbour and at Weinam Creek in 2013.
Thornlands resident Mike O’Brien said he had been waiting since December to find out what designation the state would give the area and his land so he could map out his future.
He said all development in Thornlands was on hold, despite the state finding a housing shortage in Redland and earmarking the suburb for potential residential use.
“We were all told the land could be developed after it was put into the urban footprint and we all wanted to move forward but landowners and developers are frustrated because the state has not revealed what rules we will have to follow,” Mr O’Brien said.
“Six months down the track, landowners don’t want to finalise sale contracts and developers do not know which legislation will apply or which level of government they will be dealing with.
“There are at least six major developers trying to price people’s land but can’t because they do not know if they will also have to provide a 30 per cent component of social or affordable housing, which would occur if the state designates the land as a priority development area.”
A Department of State Development and Infrastructure spokesman said the government was still considering whether to classify the land as a Priority Development Area even though southern Thornlands was already part of a long-term plan for more housing.
But the spokesman said before any decision could be made, detailed land use and infrastructure planning had to be done.
“The declaration of a Priority Development Area (PDA) is a potentially viable mechanism to secure the planning outcomes for the site and to respond to the current housing crisis by facilitating the delivery of diverse and affordable housing outcomes,” the spokesman said.
“Should a PDA be declared, Economic Development Queensland officers would then work with the Redland City Council, state agencies and the community to deliver a co-ordinated land use and infrastructure planning framework that ensures economic, community and environmental outcomes are achieved, including social and affordable housing.”
Long-time Thornlands resident Evelyn Fennelly, who has acreage property, said the area had been a “political football” since 2005 and the lack of planning certainty had left many landowners in limbo holding on to “sterilised” property.
“We just want certainty over when the land at Southern Thornlands will be open for development,” she said.
“The lack of certainty over land use in the area has placed major restrictions on many people who have had to put their lives on hold because they do not know whether to renovate, sell or even build a new fence.
“Residents want to know if they will end up living next door to a small-lot social housing estate – we just want certainty.”
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