2015-12-08 I&S Committee - Item 5 - Attach 1 - NOOSA SOCIAL STRATEGY

The Noosa Community

The Noosa Shire is located in South East Queensland,            Urban development in the Shire is concentrated in the
approximately 120 kilometres north of Brisbane. The             coastal communities and eastern beaches from Peregian
region is bounded by the Gympie Regional Council in the         Beach in the south to Noosa Heads and Tewantin in the
north and west, and the Sunshine Coast Regional Council         north. In these areas the population density is around
to the south. The Shire encompasses a total land area of        400 persons per square kilometre. For the balance of the
871.6 km2 with over 800 kilometres of roads and nearly          Shire, the overall population density is approximately
450 kilometres of bikeways.                                     25 persons per hectare concentrated in and around the
                                                                hinterland centres of Cooroy, Pomona, Cooran, Kin Kin
More than 53,000 people call Noosa home, however this           and Boreen Point. Smaller residential areas are scattered
swells significantly in peak holiday periods. For example,      throughout the hinterland.
over 110,000 visitors overnighted in Noosa between
January and March 2015, with a further 97,000 day               While significant amounts of native vegetation have
visitors in the same period. It is important to recognise the   been removed or greatly modified, one third of Noosa
challenge in balancing the different needs, expectations        is considered to have outstanding environmental,
and priorities of residents and visitors. Under the current     biodiversity and natural history values and is managed
Noosa Planning Scheme, the sustainable resident                 primarily for conservation. A further 30,653 hectares
population has the capacity to grow to 62,000. While            of land is predominantly undeveloped and sustainably
the resident population of Noosa Shire is relatively small      managed through voluntary arrangements such as Land
and anticipated growth is limited, there are growing            for Wildlife and Voluntary Conservation Agreements.
communities nearby who rely on various services,
facilities and recreational opportunities within the Noosa      In 2007 the Shire was designated a Biosphere Reserve
Shire. Over half a million people are expected to live on       by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural
the Sunshine Coast by the year 2036 and greater Brisbane        Organisation (UNESCO) and Man and the Biosphere (MAB)
is expected to be home to nearly 3.5 million by the same        program. The Noosa community is proud of its biosphere
time.                                                           status which going forward provides a benchmark for
                                                                development proposals and sustainability initiatives
                                                                across the Shire.




                                                                                                Noosa Social Strategy | Page 7