Towns ‘pushed aside’ in industrial land blueprint

A $93,000 report looking into Mackay’s industrial expansion may already have a few blind spots

The Ethos Urban Pty Ltd report was commissioned by Mackay Regional Council in November to investigate where the council could replicate the industrial success of the Paget hub.

THE 20-YEAR blueprint for Mackay's industrial expansion may already have a few blind spots, as councillors say certain areas were brushed off in a $93,000 report.

Mackay Regional Council commissioned the Ethos Urban Pty Ltd report in November to investigate where the organisation could replicate the industrial success of the Paget hub.

The report, which was tabled at the latest Wednesday meeting, found almost 40 per cent of Mackay's 1168.9 ha of zoned industrial land was undeveloped.

But it found if Mackay maintained a steady growth rate, the existing Paget industrial estate would be filled by 2033, and surrounding industrial zones would be exhausted by 2040.

Ethos Urban estimated businesses would suck up an average of 7ha of land each year, requiring 140ha of industrial land over the next two decades.

 

A summary of net vacant land in the Mackay region, from an Ethos Urban report tabled to Mackay Regional Council on Wednesday October 14.

To prepare for the upcoming demand, it said Mackay council would need to rezone areas within the next five years, and break ground on supporting infrastructure projects in the next seven years.

"Assuming a seven-year lead time between zoning land to industrial and delivering fully serviced zoned land, MRC would need to rezone one or more industry investigations area to low impact industry at approximately 2025," it said.

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Three different models for the rate of industrial land uptake in the Mackay region, from an Ethos Urban report tabled in a Mackay Regional Council meeting on Wednesday October 14.

The report suggested a $122 million expansion to the Paget industrial park before focusing on new industrial areas.

"High impact industries tending to cluster to take advantage of economies of scale, more efficient use of specialised trunk infrastructure - particularly roads capable of handling heavy transport - and opportunities for collaboration and knowledge sharing," it said.

The report said demand would focus on the current 95.9ha of available land in Paget, before bulging outwards.

It said development should focus first on unlocking 26.2ha in the Boundary Road East, before looking to the 30.3ha of land at the Paget South investigation area.

A map of remaining vacant industrial land in Mackay, from an Ethos Urban report tabled to Mackay Regional Council, on Wednesday October 14.

Ethos Urban said the ultimate goal, the development of currently rurally-zoned land at Rosella, would need to begin by the early 2030s.

"Gross vacant land totalled 448.8ha … (and) a further 500ha of land is estimated to be available for future industrial use in the Rosella estate," it said.

Mirani, Eton, Racecourse, Glenella, Beaconsfield and Blacks Beach and sites along the Ring Road were classified as not critical in the report.

An expansion of Mirani and Eton's pre-existing industrial zones was labelled "inefficient" by the report.

"Both of these low-impact industrial zoned precincts are more than 25km from Mackay CDB, they have poor access to the resident workforce, road and port infrastructure and mutual benefits derived from clustered industrial activity," Ethos Urban said.

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It said Racecourse and Glenella's industrial potential had been wiped out by the Ring Road, which constrained road access.

And it said Racecourse was also unworkable because it was outside trunk infrastructure support, picked as a future urban area and would be constrained by the mill.

Sarina was also not considered a viable hub despite a 59ha vacant industry investigation area, leading to objections from deputy Mayor Karen May.

 

A 59ha vacant industry investigation area in Sarina was not considered a priority project in an Ethos Urban report tabled in Mackay Regional Council on Wednesday October 14.

Cr May said the report did not accurately reflect the opportunities of the Sarina region, particularly its connection to the rail network.

"To me it does not seem to be considered at all in this report," she said.

Cr May said the Eton areas were "pushed aside", despite being one of the triggers for the planning scheme consultation.

"Why does everything have to be Paget based … when there's opportunities outside of town?" she asked.

"It doesn't seem to be properly investigated."

Mayor Greg Williamson agreed some areas were left out in the $93,000 report.

"The report, as lengthy as it was, did not identify some individual areas that we could of had a report on," Cr Williamson said.

"We are fast running out of land.

"We need to develop land, in terms of industrial land, up around the Eton area and up around the western end of the Pioneer Valley.

"That reports doesn't actually say that is needed right now, but these are living documents.

"It's a long-term planning project that we have to put into place.

"If we didn't have a report like this we might be second guessing ourselves two or three years down the track."

Councillors voted to make the industrial report an annual undertaking but the council would prepare it internally instead of forking over another $93,000.

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