Toowoomba Regional Council to seek more community feedback on new regional growth plan

Toowoomba is expected to have 235,000 residents by 2050 – so where do you put them? The council has weighed up that question with a new growth plan, but there’s a stumbling block.

Toowoomba's CBD.

The Toowoomba Regional Council will return to residents for feedback on a big decision that will shape the region’s growth for the next 30 years.

Councillors voted at a special meeting on Monday to commit to more community consultation on the proposed Toowoomba Region Growth Plan, a high-level strategic document that would chart how the city and wider area would develop to 2050.

The document by external contractor PSA Consulting explored two options for this growth — either by “convenience” or through “new communities”.

The “convenience” option would focus on accommodating population growth within established urban areas, while the latter would expand the region’s urban footprint beyond existing centres.

PSA Consulting said it preferred the first option, with officers recommending the council endorse that position.

But Deputy Mayor Geoff McDonald instead put forward a new motion to get more community feedback on both options, citing the lack of responses to surveys in the initial consultation process.

About 230 people, out of a population of about 170,000, either responded to an online survey or attended a session.

Councillors Bill Cahill, Megan O’Hara Sullivan and Carol Taylor voted against it.