Urbis holds breakfast presentation to discuss implications of proposed Brisbane City Centre Neighbourhood Plan

Urbis Brisbane Directors Ashley Lane and James Tuma hosted a breakfast presentation yesterday to discuss implications of the City’s draft Neighbourhood Plan. The event was attended by over 40 of Brisbane’s key CBD developers and architects.

The Brisbane City Council’s new neighbourhood plan aims to help shape the future of the City Centre. In preparing the plan, the Council envisions that it will guide the scale and design of new development, protect heritage sites and enhance public spaces. The Draft Plan is due to be advertised shortly and will be implemented by early 2016 at the latest.

Leading CBD Urban Planner Ashley Lane outlined the main elements of the draft Plan, including key provisions that will be removed and critical changes that can impact on developments. Some of the changes include restriction of Transferrable Site Area applications, towers near the Mall and strategies to discourage podium parking, among many others.

Urbis National Design Director James Tuma explained the importance of Urban Context Reports to justify built form outcomes. He also emphasised the importance of well-planned landscape and ‘street building’ activation, which are more flexible strategies in terms of use and design than ‘podiums’.

The draft Neighbourhood Plan will achieve the Council’s intention to simplify planning provisions. It is essentially about implementing good design for the sub tropics and reinforcing the forms of the City Centre. However, navigating through the complex regulations would still require specialised expertise in order to achieve a successful outcome.

For further information or specific enquiries about how the draft City Centre Neighbourhood Plan can affect you, please contact Ashley Lane on 07 3007 3838 or email alane@urbis.com.au.