The potential for Aura South to accommodate future population growth for the Sunshine Coast region is recognised in the Queensland Government’s South East Queensland Regional Plan 2017, ShapingSEQ.
The regional plan provides a framework to sustainably manage regional growth and development and ensure sufficient land supply and housing is available when needed, while balancing social, economic and environmental considerations.
The Sunshine Coast is one of the fastest growing regions in Australia with our lifestyle driving consistent population growth and strong demand for land for new homes and affordable housing. By 2046 the Sunshine Coast is expected to grow to a population of 565,800, requiring an additional 84,800 homes.
The housing affordability challenge has been influenced by the limited supply of land for urban development, with current projects in the region trading strongly in response to increased demand from families and first home buyers in the region as well as interstate migration. Without new growth areas that are well serviced by infrastructure, there will be a critical land supply shortage on the Sunshine Coast, compounding affordability issues for Sunshine Coast families.
New communities take years to plan and achieve approvals
Large masterplanned communities take years to plan and achieve the necessary strategic and infrastructure planning approvals. That’s why we have started the process to further understand the development potential of Aura South as a future residential, masterplanned community.
Significant community benefits
Aside from providing much-needed affordable housing supply, the development of Aura South has the potential to deliver other important community benefits including environmental conservation and rehabilitation opportunities, infrastructure investment, social housing, employment, water quality improvements, as well as public transit and road infrastructure.
PFGAs are needed to plan long-term growth
The current South East Queensland Regional Plan, ShapingSEQ 23 has identified the Halls Creek Potential Future Growth Area (PFGA) as one of ten PFGAs to meet longer-term growth post-2046 in South East Queensland. PFGAs play an important role in ensuring areas can be protected and assessed to determine their suitability for future long-term development. Halls Creek is the only PFGA on the Sunshine Coast.
While the boundaries of the Halls Creek PFGA have not been clearly defined, the area has been identified as a future growth area since 2009. The Aura South site is located within the Halls Creek PFGA, and it sits to the north and east of the northern Moreton Bay and Sunshine Coast Regional Inter-Urban Break (IUB). Aura South is ideally positioned to accommodate future growth, being a logical extension to Aura with direct access to essential and planned infrastructure and services, and the majority of the landholding is elevated and extensively cleared with minimal environmental values.
Extensive studies undertaken
Over the past ten years, Stockland has undertaken extensive studies to assess the suitability of Aura South for future long-term development against the relevant South East Queensland Regional Plan (SEQRP) urban footprint requirements. These include investigations into future rehabilitation opportunities to improve the site’s environmental values and ensure water quality in the Pumicestone Passage is protected.
Very early planning stages
Stockland is in the early stages of planning Aura South and the proposed development will be subject to numerous statutory planning and environmental requirements. As a first step, in July 2023 Stockland lodged a referral under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC) with the Commonwealth Government’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) to have Aura South assessed independently on its environmental merits, and suitability for development.
This referral is about putting the environment first to inform future planning and urban design outcomes.
As part of the approval process, the Commonwealth Government has determined that Aura South will be assessed by a Public Environment Report (PER). Stockland will prepare a PER detailing the measures we will be taking to ensure the environment is protected. This is a similar process that was undertaken for the development of our Aura masterplanned community, which is located adjacent to Aura South.
As part of the PER assessment process there will be opportunities for community consultation and engagement. Click here to register your details for further information about the EPBC process as well as project updates. Following the EPBC assessment process, Stockland will still need to apply for State Government assessment and approvals to proceed.
