SEQ Regional Plan
Tuesday, 23 February 2010 12:06
The SEQ Regional Plan that restricts urban development to an urban footprint area and protects many of the acreage areas in Moggill electorate was reviewed by the State Parliament on 11th February 2010.
I have argued long and hard that the urban footprint in the local area should not be increased and that we should preserve greenspace and acreage living. In any case our area lacks the services that would be necessary for future urban development.
I am pleased that my argument has been accepted by the Government and there has been no extension of the urban footprint in our area.This of course restricts developers making development applications to the established residential areas in the urban footprint. In the case of our local area this precludes development applications from most of the area.
As well as being very important for the lifestyle of local residents and also because of already overcrowded schools, congested roads and inadequate public transport I think this is the best outcome that could be achieved.
It should be noted the State Government has imposed population targets on each of the council areas in South East Queensland. In the case of Brisbane that target is 280,000 new residents by 2035.
On the down side this does mean that in urban areas densities are increasing. In our local area this principally includes Kenmore, Chapel Hill, Bellbowrie and Karana Downs.
The highest densities are reserved for places such as Indooroopilly which have been designated transport nodes. However as all local residents are well aware that transport particularly roads and overcrowded bus and rail in the Indooroopilly area are far from being adequate to support the level of development envisaged. More needs to be done throughout the western suburbs.
To read my speech to Parliament click here.
| Local Council | Number of new residents required by 2035 |
| Brisbane | 279,000 |
| Ipswich | 292,000 |
| Gold Coast | 282,000 |
| Moreton Bay | 180,000 |
| Sunshine Coast | 202,000 |
| Western Councils | 89,000 |
| Logan | 174,000 |
Of concern the fastest areas of population growth are in fact relatively outlying areas such as Ipswich, Caboolture and Logan. But the area where the greatest employment growth is expected is in fact the trade coast around the Port of Brisbane and Brisbane Airport.
This has very major implications for transport infrastructure particularly into that trade coast area as residents will live where housing is affordable to them but they will work where they can obtain the most suitable employment. In many cases this means people will be travelling on roads like the Western Freeway from outlying areas into Brisbane for work.
For further information feel free to contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it