Stockland’s controversial Twin Waters West plan slammed by locals

Residents are getting vocal about Stockland’s latest Twin Waters West plans, including an engineer who fears it could create a Lismore-style disaster. Vote in our poll.

Michel and Madleen De Gea of Twin Waters. Picture: Patrick Woods.

Residents are hitting back at development giant Stockland’s latest attempts to develop Twin Waters West, claiming the changes to the controversial project do little to mitigate the risk of catastrophic flooding.

Stockland submitted its third proposal for the 104.8ha Pacific Paradise site in May, 2023, for the project 14 years in the making following a failed Planning and Environment Court appeal against Sunshine Coast Council’s previous rejection.

The latest plans include 450 low density lots as well as a lake system to manage the risk of flooding to neighbouring homes.

This is the third time plans for Twin Waters West have gone before Sunshine Coast Council.

Twin Waters resident and engineer Michel De Gea said he worried the area could suffer “the same fate as Lismore” if the 450 lots were built on the flood plain.

Mr De Gea moved to the region with his wife in 2020 when they began to hear concerns from neighbours about the proposed development.

He said after looking at the latest application he had concerns about traffic, the environment as well as flood mitigation.

“I’m a senior engineering project manager, I know what I’m talking about and having pumps to push back the water to the river is simply nonsense,” Mr De Gea said.

“I cannot read this and not be astonished, it is absurd.”

Mr De Gea claimed the solutions proposed by Stockland did not take into account heavy flooding or climate change.

“Everywhere in the world things are happening to a different scale,” Mr De Gea said.

“Climate change is only starting, look at Lismore, the water came up to the roof.”

Michel De Gea of Twin Waters has raised concerns about Stockland’s latest plans for Twin Waters West. Picture: Patrick Woods.

Mr De Gea is among the more than 20 residents to already have their say on the development in submissions to the council.

A spokesperson for Stockland said the latest application had been “enhanced” to meet the requirements of the council’s planning scheme.

“The new development application encompasses the court’s outcomes, including enhanced sustainability measures and improvement to residential character requirements,” they said.

“The new master plan incorporates the input of many stakeholders and aligns with the Sunshine Coast Council Planning Scheme.

“Twin Waters West is designed to achieve flood resilience, including under climate change scenarios and not to increase flood levels in areas external to the site, including Twin Waters.”

Flooding from March 2022 on the site of the proposed Twin Waters West development. Photo: Iain McCallum.

Another Twin Waters resident Iain McCallum said he didn’t believe the lake system proposed by the developer was enough.

“My neighbour across the road from our house has newspaper clippings of himself walking through waist high water in the middle of our street when it flooded in the early 90s,” Mr McCallum said.

“The prospect of flooding in the area being managed by an artificial lake that depends on a pump system that will ultimately be funded by ratepayers who don‘t want the development in the first place, is an injustice to say the least.”

Community consultation is open until September 29, 2023.

Originally published as Stockland’s controversial Twin Waters West plan slammed by locals