By Sonia Isaacs
THE Sunshine Coast’s peak environmental body has warned the State Government’s planning blueprint for the Halls Creek Priority Development Area risks permanently eroding one of the region’s most important green buffers.
The warning comes despite government assurances the project will balance housing growth with environmental protection.
The Interim Land Use Plan for the 1231ha PDA establishes the planning framework for a new master-planned community of up to 12,000 homes south of Caloundra while a permanent Development Scheme is prepared.
It identifies an Early Release Area capable of delivering about 1000 homes, with the broader development expected to accommodate about 30,000 residents.
However, the Sunshine Coast Environment Council says the proposal represents another step towards urbanising land long regarded as a critical inter-urban break between the Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay.
SCEC spokesperson Narelle McCarthy said the organisation remained firmly opposed to residential development at Halls Creek, arguing the land had historically been regarded as an important ecological buffer.
“When Caloundra South, now known as Aura, was fast-tracked, Halls Creek was always intended to remain undeveloped to compensate for that development,” Ms McCarthy said.
She said successive councils, from the former Caloundra City Council to Sunshine Coast Council, had consistently opposed urban development at Halls Creek.
“The PDA changes that by effectively shifting the land from a rural planning context to an urban one,” she said.
The Interim Land Use Plan identifies more than 633ha for environmental protection, open space and recreation.
However, Ms McCarthy said the headline figure did not address habitat fragmentation or the cumulative impacts of development.
“SCEC is concerned about the impacts the development could have on the integrity and long-term function of the inter-urban break, which plays an important role in protecting the character and ecological values of our region,” she said.
“We are also deeply concerned about impacts on the health of the Ramsar-listed Pumicestone Passage, one of South East Queensland’s most environmentally significant coastal ecosystems.”
A Queensland Parliament e-petition launched in June calling on the Government to halt the urbanisation of Aura South has attracted more than 560 signatures.
Sunshine Coast Mayor Rosanna Natoli has urged residents to stand with the council in lobbying the State Government for infrastructure investment to keep pace with growth.
“Hospitals, the GPs, schools, public transport and major connecting roads, they will all come under pressure,” Cr Natoli told The Courier-Mail.
“We need to make sure that as a community residents and council stand together and say, ‘this is what we need … to make sure that our lifestyle isn’t impacted’.”
The Interim Land Use Plan describes Halls Creek as a community “shaped by, connected to and enriched by its natural coastal setting”.
It proposes housing, employment areas, schools, community facilities and transport infrastructure alongside a Green Network intended to protect biodiversity, wildlife corridors and threatened-species habitat.
Future development applications will also need to address bushfire risk, flooding, stormwater, infrastructure delivery and environmental impacts.
Member for Caloundra Kendall Hatcher said the PDA would help address the Sunshine Coast’s housing shortage.
“This is a major step forward that will help unlock the delivery of up to 12,000 new homes across more than 1,200 hectares south of Caloundra, alongside new community facilities, green spaces and opportunities for local businesses,” she said.
“Importantly, an Early Release Area will help fast-track around 1,000 homes, providing a range of housing options for Queenslanders who want to live, work and raise a family here on the Sunshine Coast.”
Ms Hatcher said coordinated planning would ensure housing was supported by infrastructure, schools, parks and community facilities.
Developer Stockland says the project would help address the region’s housing shortage while delivering strong environmental outcomes.
The company says about half the site would remain as environmental areas, buffers and parkland, protecting more than 500ha.
It has also proposed wildlife corridors, stormwater treatment systems, groundwater monitoring and a 348ha environmental offset area for the Wallum Sedge Frog.
Stockland says more than 85 per cent of the land was cleared decades ago for pine plantations and grazing, and that the site has been identified for possible future urban growth since 2009.
Sunshine Coast Council said the PDA declaration was a State Government initiative and would not alter the overall direction of the proposed Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme.
A council spokesperson said the local planning framework remained “robust enough to respond to the PDA declaration”.
