Battlelines drawn in development bid for flood-prone land

Stockland, community groups set to go head to head over north shore development plan

Stockland has released an impression of its re-worked development proposal for the Maroochy River north shore adjacent the Sunshine Motorway.

STOCKLAND has triggered the start of a period for public comment to its Twin Waters West development aspirations with the filing of answers to a series of questions raised about the proposal by Sunshine Coast Council and the State Government.

The proposal, bounded by the David Low Way, the Sunshine Motorway and Twin Waters, would ultimately house more than 2000 people on what is now flood-prone former caneland.

Sunshine Coast Council rezoned the land for urban development after having successfully defeated a previous attempt by Stockland to secure approval through the planning court.

Kathryn Hyman, of the Twin Waters West and Surrounds, a north shore residents' group fighting the application, said it was currently working through almost 6000 pages of documents contained the completed documents ahead of a planned series of information sessions for affected residents.

The period for public submissions to the development application closes on July 5.

Ms Hyman said open day meetings for residents would be held on June 22-23 at the Mudjimba Community Hall.

She said her association already had volunteers with expertise across a range of disciplines working through the documents.

Pro forma submissions will be produced to assist those concerned about the project's impact to make those views clear.

Stockland said its provision of more planning detail to the Sunshine Coast Council and the State Government had been informed through ongoing community engagement and requests for further information.

Regional manager Adrian Allen said the additional detail confirmed Stockland's commitment to reflecting the quality of the local Twin Waters community, ensured densities consistent with Twin Waters and Pacific Paradise, protected the existing environment, and minimised impacts while providing community benefits.

"This is a proposal that has taken shape over a number of years, and given strong local interest, we understand how important it is to demonstrate the proposal is of the highest quality," Mr Allen said.

"We've spent a number of years working closely with the local community and Australia's leading design and environmental experts, including those who worked on the original Twin Waters community, to ensure the proposal meets both local and state requirements and community expectations."

The final application removed three medium density sites and represented a reduction of 116 dwellings across the site, compared to what was originally proposed.

Mr Allen said upgraded and new stormwater infrastructure and a 19ha internal lake system would ensure the development and neighbouring properties would not be impacted by a one in 100 year flood event including climate change influences.

The proposed development included a 1.5ha recreation park, 10kms of paths ands trails, extensions of the coastal pathway, the permanent dedication of the central 9.5ha remnant vegetation connecting to a new 3.3 ha conservation park adjoining the Maroochy River.

Stockland said it would schedule more information sessions across June to discuss the project with interested members of the Pacific Paradise, Twin Waters and Mudjimba communities.

Originally published as Battlelines drawn in development bid for flood-prone land