ShapingSEQ: Regional Plan Released

Key moves proposed by ShapingSEQ are summarised as follows: 

• The overall structure of the final document is consistent with the draft, however the regulatory provisions now sit in the Planning Regulation 2017 Schedule 10, Parts 15 and 16.
• The numbers have been adjusted slightly.  SEQ is currently home to 3.5 million people and not 3.4 million as listed in the draft.  Our growth to 2041 is now planned to accommodate 1.9 million people and not 2 million as originally proposed.
• There is now greater emphasis on ensuring local government planning schemes have at least 15 years supply of land – meaning land that has been appropriately zoned and is able to be serviced. As part of this initiative a new land supply framework is included in Chapter 3 to set a process for ensuring land supply shortfalls can be resolved (Figure 1). 

Figure 1: Land supply framework for resolving shortfall in supply

• No new Potential Future Growth Areas (PFGAs) have been added but Caboolture East has been removed. PFGAs are no longer mapped in the sub-region maps.
• The Consolidation (previously called Infill) and Expansion (previously called greenfield) target has been maintained at 60% Consolidation and 40% Expansion with adjustments per sub-region as summarised below:

• Jobs targets have been removed from the sub-regional narratives. These have been replaced with new sections on “Regional Economic Clusters” for each of the sub-regions. The plan seeks to intensify and protect these employment areas. This will mean these areas take on additional significance in future planning by local governments.

• SEQ Housing Supply Expert Panel: A new panel to be established to monitor land supply.  The panel will help create the monitoring program and will comprise experts from planning, property, economics and demography.
• City Deals: The Queensland Government is committed to establishing and implementing a City Deal for SEQ and it provides an opportunity to help deliver some of the aspirations identified by ShapingSEQ.
• Unlocking Underutilised Urban Footprint: Department of Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning (DILGP) will work with local governments to identify and expedite development of underutilised areas in the Urban Footprint.
• Front Loading New Expansion Areas: DILGP will work with local government to help unlock and de-risk large-scale growth areas such as Caboolture West.
• Centres Network and Economic Clusters Monitoring: DILGP will conduct a review of the SEQ regional activity centres network and identify priority centres as a focus for infrastructure investment. DILGP will similarly monitor performance of Regional Economic Clusters.
• Key Infrastructure Initiatives: A range of new actions have been included that look to better link land use and infrastructure planning. This includes exploring new ways to fund infrastructure.

We will continue to share with you our insights on the key initiatives over the coming weeks. Please don’t hesitate to contact one of our SEQ experts should you want to know more.