The State Facilitated Development proposal for Tewantin, at 87-89 Poinciana Avenue and 10 Sidoni Street, has been lodged with the state government and is now open for public comment. The three Noosa community groups that teamed up to fight the SFD proposals in Noosa are now calling on residents to lodge objections to the proposal. Noosa Shire Residents & Ratepayers Association, Peregian Beach Community Association and Noosa Parks Association all say the proposal contravenes the Noosa planning scheme and sets a dangerous precedent if approved.
“The proposal for Tewantin is for a four-storey building on a site that is zoned for just two-storeys,” said Aaron White of Noosa Shire Residents & Ratepayers Association. “If we are to retain the village character of places like Tewantin, then over-scale developments must be prevented. The proposed development also breaches setback limits from the street and the maximum site cover. This is an overreach by a developer hoping to skirt around the Noosa planning scheme.”
“While we all accept the need for a better range of housing in Noosa, and more affordable housing, letting developers ignore the planning scheme is not the way to deal with the problem,” said John Hare of Peregian Beach Community Association. “Council has already demonstrated to the state that it can provide affordable housing on council-owned land elsewhere, without breaching the planning scheme. We don’t need oversize developments to achieve affordable housing. In any case, the proposed development does not guarantee that it will deliver genuinely affordable homes and has no reliable commitment from a Community Housing Provider.”
Tony Wellington of Noosa Parks Association and a former Noosa mayor says that if the development is allowed to proceed, “it will set a dangerous precedent, encouraging other developers to by-pass council and go straight to the state when they don’t want to comply with our planning scheme. We call on the state to make good on its promise to the Noosa community. Prior to the recent state election, the LNP assured Noosa that any State Facilitated Developments in our shire would only be approved in collaboration with the council and where they were consistent with the planning scheme. We need the Queensland Government to honour that promise.”
“Noosa’s brand is reliant upon the differences that define Noosa, and that includes careful town planning, a lack of big city symbols, and buildings that are in sympathy with the local environment,” said NPA’s Greg Reddaway who is a Tewantin resident. “This proposed development would be an anomaly at four stories. The applicant needs to be told to go back to the drawing board.”
Aaron White from Noosa Shire Residents & Ratepayers explained that it is very important that residents make submissions to the state before the closing date of March 10.
Submissions can be lodged by going to State Facilitated Development on the Queensland Government’s website, navigating to “Public Notification”, clicking on the Tewantin proposal SFD-01040, and then the “Make a Submission” button at the bottom of the page.
