2017-04-11 Planning & Environment Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                        11 APRIL 2017


As already indicated there is a very limited supply of public, community and transitional housing
available and the waiting list for public housing is long. It is unlikely additional public or community
housing will be built in Noosa Shire given the high value of land. People at personal risk and
families with children are given priority over others.

3.    Accommodating Visitors

Tourism is one of the Shire’s key economic sectors and in recent years’ growth has been strong
(average growth rates in tourism visitation averaging 2.5% per annum over the last decade). It is
difficult to accurately determine the amount of accommodation available to tourists and visitors in
Noosa and even harder to predict with certainty the demand for tourism accommodation in the
future. Accommodation can take a number of forms, such as resorts, hotels, motels and bed and
breakfast establishments and tourist parks, units within multiple dwelling complexes (capable of
use by residents or visitors) as well as holiday homes, rooms in private dwellings or private
dwellings let either consistently or occasionally by visitors.

The line between permanent and visitor accommodation has blurred and there is generally little
restriction on self-contained accommodation being used for visitors or permanent residents.
Because of a shortage of small dwelling units there are many permanent residents (typically single
people) residing in resorts which have not necessarily been designed to provide a suitable
permanent home. This can affect the overall operation and profitability of the complex.

At the same time houses and residential apartments offer more space and privacy for guests and
have become very popular options with visitors, especially extended families and multiple families
staying together. In areas particularly popular with visitors such as Noosaville, Noosa Heads and
the beaches, property owners can currently achieve a higher return from the visitor market than
from permanent tenants and as a result some properties cease to be available to permanent
residents and thereby adds pressure to rents on offer to permanent tenants. This situation can
obviously fluctuate with the strength of the visitor market but can have a negative effect on the
amenity and social fabric of residential neighbourhoods.

Continued ongoing growth in tourism in line with that of the last decade will have substantial
impacts on the supply and cost of residential housing and the lifestyle of residents. The report
identifies there are risks associated with perpetually meeting the demand for visitor
accommodation and suggests more sustainable ways of growing the industry be pursued (such as
diversifying and improving on the products offered). In addition to protecting ‘visitor only’ resort
sites, Council may wish to consider whether some neighbourhoods should be earmarked as
‘resident only’, particularly areas that would offer appropriately designed and well located small
dwellings to permanent occupants.

4.    Future needs for increased diversity in housing

The Housing Needs Assessment has relied on various models to estimate future housing needs
for Noosa Shire and to quantify the ‘mismatch’ between our forecast population and demographics
(including number of households, size of households, age of households etc.) and the housing
existing and being built.

The consultants have recommended a “low change scenario” where a subtle shift occurs in
housing provision in the life of the next planning scheme. A decreased proportion would be large
detached houses while an increasing proportion would be other forms of housing such as small
detached houses, independent living units for retirees, small semi-detached dwellings (such as
duplexes) and small attached dwellings. This change is shown in the following figure.




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