Forum reveals questions over growth, housing and infrastructure challenges

Council CEO John Baker, Mayor Rosanna Natoli, and Planning Services Executive Debra Robinson.

by Cameron Outridge

Sunshine Coast Council faced a raft of community concerns at a forum in Nambour on Wednesday night (August 13), as residents questioned whether the proposed planning scheme could balance explosive projected population growth with preserving the hinterland’s rural village character and liveability.

The forum heard the draft scheme must accommodate 219,000 new residents by 2046 – equivalent to 169 new arrivals every week, or about 65 new dwellings a week. This would require 84,810 new dwellings across the Coast. The staggering growth projection focussed discussions at Nambour State College, where locals voiced concerns about infrastructure, housing affordability, homelessness, CBD revitalisation concerns and environmental protection.

The  community forum was attended by Council CEO John Baker, Mayor Rosanna Natoli, and Planning Services Executive Debra Robinson. The trio fielded questions from residents worried about the region’s rapid growth and its impact on liveability.

“We’ve got to cater for growth happening every day of the week, but how can the town plan stay ahead of the curve so infrastructure is coping with existing growth, let alone future growth?” asked one resident.

Some attendees expressed concern about Nambour’s declining town centre, with one describing “graffiti spreading everywhere, dirty streets and many empty buildings with rain coming in and things rotting”.

The council highlighted the importance of “adaptive reuse of old buildings” rather than simply constructing new developments, particularly in areas like Nambour with significant heritage character in the CBD.

Mayor Natoli envisioned a revitalised Nambour might resemble Brisbane’s popular West End suburb, with “people actually living in town (on upper levels) with restaurants and cafes and businesses down below.

“You need mixed housing options in order for people to have somewhere appropriate to live, you need tiny homes... you need all of these different options.”

The forum also highlighted tensions between accommodating growth while preserving character, with the CEO acknowledging the key was to balance these competing priorities in the new scheme.

“If you think ‘let’s cap the number of houses’ ... what happens? The value of those properties go up immediately... you end up in a Noosa situation where you’ve got very, very high value properties and no real opportunity for anybody else to live there.”

Housing affordability emerged as a critical theme, with one resident describing how rising rates forced people to choose between eating and staying in their homes.  

“A lot of them don’t eat every day... they’re being told, well if you can’t afford to live here, leave, but it’s their homes.”

Ms Robinson explained the planning scheme’s primary role was to regulate development and could not address all community concerns, with some issues falling under state government or other authorities’ jurisdictions. 

The draft scheme proposes relaxing some restrictions, including increasing the distance for rural secondary dwellings from the current 20 metres to 80 metres. In practical terms, this gives rural landowners more flexibility.

Submission close September 30

Public submissions close soon, with the final scheme requiring council majority approval before ministerial review. Residents have until September 30 to make formal submissions on the draft planning scheme (via council’s have your say website) which will guide development across the Sunshine Coast for years to come.