2017-04-11 Planning & Environment Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                       11 APRIL 2017


REPORT
The Noosa Social Strategy of 2015 identified, under the theme of Accessible, Diverse and
Affordable Communities, that Council would undertake a Housing Needs Assessment to inform
planning and advocacy. Also, a Housing Needs Assessment is a requirement of the Queensland
State Planning Policy – State Interest Guideline on Housing Supply and Diversity and is intended
to inform the preparation of a new planning scheme. Consequentially local consultants Briggs and
Mortar Pty Ltd were engaged to prepare the Housing Needs Assessment.

1.    Households, Housing Supply and Dwelling Characteristics
From the Housing Needs Assessment, the earlier Community Profile and publications released
from the Queensland Government Statisticians Office, it is evident that Noosa Shire has a
distinctive demographic profile, reflective of its attraction as a coastal lifestyle destination. At 30
June 2015 the estimated resident population of Noosa Shire was 53,515 persons. Over the 10
years from 2005 to 2015 the average annual growth rate was 1.2%, noticeably less than that for
the State of Queensland at 2.0%. Resident growth rate is anticipated to slow further in the future.
The draft SEQ Regional Plan suggests the population of Noosa Shire will increase by 9,500
between 2015 and 2041, reaching a figure of 63,000.
At 30 June 2015 the proportion of the estimated resident population aged 65 years and over for
Noosa Shire was 22.4%, higher than the State figure of 14.4%. Compared to the State average
most age groups over the age of 45 are over represented.
The median age for Noosa Shire residents at 30 June 2015 was 47.2 years, which had risen from
42.7 in the preceding 10 years. The Queensland Government predicts it will be 50.6 years by 2036.
By comparison the median age for the State has risen from 35.9 years to 36.9 years in the same
10 year period, and it is predicted to reach 39.9 years by 2036.
At the 2011 census 5.0% of Noosa Shire residents were in need of assistance with a profound or
severe disability. This was slightly higher than the State figure.
At the 2011 census there were a reported 18,922 households, of which 23.6% were lone person
households. This proportion is only slightly higher than the State’s. At 1.1% and 4.0% respectively
the proportion of multiple family households and group households were both marginally lower
than the State figures. The occupancy rate for Noosa Shire was 2.4 persons per household, slightly
lower than the State figure of 2.6.
At the 2011 census there were a reported 13,912 families in Noosa Shire, 47.8% of which were
“couple families without children”; 35.8% of which were “couple families with children”; and 15.6%
of which were one-parent families.
Of the 18,920 occupied private dwellings counted in Noosa at the 2011 census, 80% (or 15,135)
were separate houses, 1,874 were semi-detached, 1,644 were apartments, 196 were
caravans/cabins/houseboats and 63 were something other (such as improvised housing or a flat
attached to a workspace).
The draft SEQ Regional Plan calls for an additional 5,900 dwellings to be provided in Noosa Shire
during the 20 years from 2011, the majority of which will be through infill development.
Since the date of the 2011 census, building approval has been given for over 1,700 net additional
dwellings in Noosa Shire. At 79% the majority were for detached houses and approximately 1/3
of these had a listed floor area of 300m2 or more and nearly 18% had a stated project value of
$500,000 or more (which does not include land value). Approval was given for 116 multiple
housing units, 74 duplex dwellings (37 duplexes), 41 secondary dwellings and 258 independent
retirement living units. During this period only 3 rural “cottages” were specifically built as visitor
accommodation.




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