Fernleigh Westbrook resubmitted to Toowoomba council as variation request with 100 lots attached

After spending nearly eight years in development hell, a proposal for a massive housing estate just outside Toowoomba has been resurrected by its proponents.

The developer behind a longstanding subdivision that would expand a burgeoning community outside Toowoomba has brought the project back to council in a different form.

Ian Knox has resurrected Fernleigh at Westbrook, which was originally conceived nearly eight years ago as a massive 1500-lot masterplanned community on a large rural parcel just north of the existing township.

The project became a focal point of growing tensions between Toowoomba’s development community and the council’s planning department, with criticisms based around the latter’s perceived unwillingness to expand priority infrastructure mapping (which guides where development is placed).

This came to a head in August 2019 when the council approved at a special meeting a heavily-reduced version of Fernleigh it created, which was described by project leaders as “unworkable”.

An original layout of Fernleigh estate in Westbrook. The new application relates to land in the bottom-left corner.

The proponents initially appealed the decision in the planning and environment court, but discontinued this nearly a year later before putting the entire project on hold.

Toowoomba’s housing market has only become more constrained since that point, while the city’s rental vacancy rate sits at 0.5 per cent.

Ian Knox, developer. Picture: Kevin Farmer

With Nikola Stepanov now in charge of the council’s planning department after taking over from Stewart Somers, the new lodgement from Mr Knox for a variation request is the clearest indication he believes the project could be viable now.

According to the report by Precint Urban Planning’s Andrew Bullen, the new application covers what will be the first two stages of Fernleigh — equating to about 100 lots over nine hectares.

“The collective intent of the development approval sought is to facilitate the future co-ordinated subdivision, use and development of subject land for residential uses associated with the initial stages of the Fernleigh Master Planned Community,” the report said.

“The residential expansion proposed purposefully responds to an overriding, latent and unsatisfied planning need for further residential development within the south western quadrant of Toowoomba urban area.”

The application is supported by a market report by 3D Property Consulting, which revealed that Westbrook had only 71 lots worth of land available for development outside of Fernleigh.

Median house sales in Westbrook remain at record highs ($735,000) while the number of transactions in 2024 is on track for one of the lowest since before the pandemic.

This lack of available “englobo” land comes despite Westbrook being earmarked as a potential future growth area in the state government’s SEQ regional plan (along with Highfields), with the state also including the land encompassing Fernleigh in its urban footprint mapping.

Westbrook, south west of Toowoomba, has seen record house prices. Picture: Kevin Farmer

“In order to satisfy this high level of pent up demand and to assist the sustainable long term economic development of the Toowoomba region, additional englobo land must be made available for residential development,” the report said.

Another attached report by engineering consultant Ged Brennan indicated the council’s existing infrastructure in Westbrook could currently handle another 400 lots before extra investment was required.

“Considering all major infrastructure classes, and assuming no major changes since 2019, there is potential to service up to 400 lots with only minimum external works required,” he wrote.

Mr Knox was contacted for comment.