Enough housing supply and diversity in Redland City

Redland City Councillors have unanimously refuted the Deputy Premier’s proposed Ministerial Direction requiring Council to prepare a new housing supply and diversity strategy for Redland City by August 2022.

Mayor Karen Williams said Redland City had plenty of housing supply and diversity and would demonstrate there was no urgent need for a strategy in a written submission to the Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning, Steven Miles.

“I am bewildered as to why the Deputy Premier has sent a letter stating he is considering using his ministerial powers to force Council’s hand on the matter,” Cr Williams said.

“We are meeting our requirements with evidence of sufficient and increasing housing diversity in Redlands in the State Government’s own annual Land Supply and Development Monitoring (LSDM) Reports.

“The LSDM consistently notes that Redland City has sufficient planned dwelling supply to achieve the dwelling supply benchmarks of the SEQ Regional Plan (ShapingSEQ).

“In addition, recent dwelling approvals show the City is achieving greater diversity in its dwelling stock compared with the 2016 Census.

“While housing strategies are valuable, local governments would usually undertake them in preparation for a review of their planning schemes.

“As this is some four years away for Redland City, and the city’s 2002/21 housing supply figures exceeds the State’s targets, it would be premature and unnecessary for Council to allocate resources to undertake this strategy now.

“Council has already completed two pieces of work that currently serve the purpose of a housing supply strategy – the Redlands Housing Strategy 2011-2031 and the Redland Land Supply Review; a detailed assessment of residential land availability undertaken in 2014,” Cr Williams said.

Prior to the preparation of the current Redland City Plan, Council officers engaged planning consultants to prepare the ‘Redlands Housing Strategy 2011-2031’ (RHS), which recommended the types of housing that would be required to meet the future housing needs of the Redlands.

In 2014 Council also engaged planning consultants to undertake a detailed assessment of residential land availability in the Redlands which found that Redland has capacity to accommodate the number of dwellings required to house the projected population growth over the planning timeframe 2014 to 2041.

Cr Williams said that together, these bodies of work not only informed the development of the Redland City Plan but would also ensure future planning scheme amendments and the review of the Local Government Infrastructure Plan supported ongoing supply and diversity of residential land across our City.

“Council is also currently finalising a comprehensive review of existing residential land supply and demand across the City to 2045,”Cr Williams said.

“While we may have temporarily fallen below the ShapingSEQ benchmark of four years of approved lot supply, our figures from the 2020/21 financial year will be well above this target at close to five years.

“We seem to have been singled out as there are much bigger players with a lot more population growth that could deliver additional housing, but do not seem to be getting the same direction from the Minister.

“It would appear that other local government areas that have fallen below the ShapingSEQ threshold – including Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Noosa and Moreton Bay – have not been requested to prepare a housing supply and diversity strategy.

“Council has also progressed land use and infrastructure planning for two newly emerging communities in south west Victoria Point and southern Redland Bay which are expected to accommodate more than 5500 new lots, including providing opportunities for lots below 400m2.

“It is also worth noting that the Deputy Premier recently commented that the State’s newly established Priority Growth Area in Southern Redland Bay would unlock growth, housing choice and affordability and identified the opportunity for an additional 2000 new dwellings outside the approved Shoreline development.

Council determined today that the CEO would write back to the Deputy Premier to demonstrate there was no need to prepare a housing supply and diversity strategy at this time, and request that the State provide a transport and infrastructure plan that is intrinsically linked to the dwelling forecasts for Redland City and that includes the Eastern Busway through to Capalaba, Cleveland Rail duplication through to Cleveland and upgrades to all State-owned roads.

Providing this critical infrastructure will be key in unlocking the planned dwelling supply in City’s existing urban areas.

Cr Williams said “We stand here ready to collaborate with the State Government but want to do it right.

“We ask the State to come to the party with transport and other infrastructure that meets growth expectations.”

Council has 20 business days to make a submission in response to the Deputy Premier’s notification that he was considering exercising the Ministerial Direction powers under the Planning Act 2016 to require Council to prepare a Redland City housing supply and diversity strategy by 30 August 2022.