The Property Council has prepared a detailed submission on the Draft Queensland Coastal Plan.
In the submission, the Property Council has stated that the policy intent of reducing risks to the community from coastal hazards, taking into account the likely effects of climate change would be supported in principle. The adoption of a risk-based assessment and development control approach has also been supported. However, the approach adopted in the Draft State Planning Policy Coastal Protection (Draft SPP) and associated guidelines raise some issues for the development industry which have been outlined in the submission.
If implemented the Draft SPP is likely to result in sterilisation of currently developable areas and will add significant costs to future development – additional infrastructure, coastal protection and flood protection works which will have a detrimental effect on housing affordability.
Coordination and harmonisation
The Property Council has, again, submitted that there is a clear and pressing need to demonstrate coordination and harmonisation with other State legislation and approaches - both within Queensland and across jurisdictions.
The introduction of the Draft Queensland Coastal Plan 2009 raises obvious questions regarding the relationship of this state planning tool with the South East Queensland Regional Plan and other Regional Plans in Queensland. The relationship and resolution of policy questions raised by both tools needs to be adequately resolved. The allocation of this plan may result in significant challenges in the delivery of regional planning policies for South East Queensland such as a compact urban form and an efficient use of infrastructure. The Property Council has submitted that these core policy questions need to be resolved in plan making and can not be referred to development assessment process for resolution.
Connection with other recent planning reforms, especially those relating to climate change, has not been made not clear. Guidance materials need to be prepared explaining how this instrument relates to and is consistent with the Queensland Government’s climate change policy agenda, along with its interrelationship with other instruments seeking to influence how land use planning and development responds to climate change. The relationship with other Queensland Government planning related climate change initiatives has not been articulated. Readers will find they need assistance to navigate the array of climate change initiatives that the Queensland Government has released and understand their interrelationships, especially where they relate to planning and development control.
