Room for 100,000 New Residents

February 22, 2008

A State Government stocktake shows Brisbane has room for more than 100,000 new residents, on land the City Council has already earmarked for residential development.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning Paul Lucas said this is up to 14 years worth of development, according to the latest Broadhectare study.

“At a time when fears of land shortages and the cost of housing are affecting so many South East Queenslanders, this shows there are still many areas of Brisbane just waiting to become someone’s home,” said Mr Lucas.

“What this says to developers and the real estate market is the full house sign is not up for Brisbane, there is sufficient land here and in surrounding areas to cope with population growth for years to come.

“Just on this land alone, Brisbane could accommodate between 100,000 – 140,000 extra people depending on the average household size, to grow to a city of more than 1.1 million.

“That matches up with the city’s forecast population growth through to 2016, around 120,000 extra people.

“This study identifies 3047 hectares of land for housing already tagged for development by Brisbane City Council, which equals approximately 50,000 new homes and units.

“Depending on future rates of development and density levels this would provide between eight and 14 years of residential land supply.

“What’s more, this study doesn’t look at smaller parcels of land that are already built on and may be subdivided or redeveloped.

“That’s the real key to Brisbane’s future, unlocking the full potential of the land we’ve already used.”

The Broadhectare study is a snapshot of land parcels earmarked or potentially suitable for residential development in the Brisbane City Council area that are greater than 2500 square metres, plus existing vacant lots.

The findings give developers and the community a clear indication on when this land is currently expected to be built on, ranging from the immediate future out to beyond the ten year mark

“This study is a key part of the State Government’s initiatives to address housing affordability and shows just how important appropriate planning is,” Mr Lucas said.

“Housing affordability is a problem across the world, affected not just by land supply but also interest rates, access to finance and approval times.

“The State Government is acting now by making more land available in South East Queensland through the Urban Land Development Authority (ULDA), which will redevelop potential sites such as Northshore Hamilton, Bowen Hills, Woolloongabba and Fitzgibbon.

“It is critical the focus in Brisbane remains on infill and redeveloping existing areas to provide additional housing only partly reflected in this study and minimise the need for new infrastructure that comes with ongoing urban sprawl.”

The reports highlights that:

·Last financial year, the peak areas for residential lot registrations included Wakerley, Calamvale and Bald Hills followed by Parkinson-Drewvale, Pallara-Heathwood-Larapinta, Moggill, McDowall and Deagon.

? Land values had doubled since 2002 and almost trebled since 1998.

? Since 2005, an average of 400 residential subdivisions were approved each year to create 3156 lots – urban developments accounted for 337 ha annually out of the 353 ha totals.

Over the coming year similar studies will be completed for the Gold Coast, Ipswich and other regions.

“We will, of course, also be looking at residential housing needs in the wider region as part of the South East Queensland Regional Plan review, expected to be release for public submissions next year and be finalised by 2010,” said Mr Lucas

“The draft SEQ Regional Plan will allow everyone to have a say about issues that matter to them such as proposed areas for development, green space and waterways.”

For more information on The Brisbane City Broadhectare Study Edition 6, 2008 visit www.infrastructure.qld.gov.au/pifu.

Media contact: Matthew Klar 0437 435 223