2014-05-20 Planning & Organisation Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                       20 MAY 2014


3.4   The Noosa Plan
The subject site is located in the Eastern Beaches Locality and is zoned Semi Attached Housing
along the David Low frontage and Open Space Recreation for the balance of the site. A copy of
the zoning map is included as Attachment 3.

The Semi Attached Housing zone generally seeks for low density residential development in an
urban form expressing domestic scale and form of architecture, rather than commercial. As an
exception, The Noosa Plan allows for limited office development within this zone for properties
fronting David Low Way, including the subject site north to Woodland Drive.

The Open Space Recreation zone is intended to accommodate a variety of passive and active
recreational experiences for the community. Specific Outcomes are included within the Locality
Code seeking the caravan park be retained for low cost visitor accommodation.

The proposed retail and dining uses conflict with both zones and are identified as inconsistent
uses required to follow an impact assessment process.

Local Area Provisions

The Overall Outcomes of the Eastern Beaches Locality Code seek to provide for a wide range of
local retail, commercial and entertainment and dining uses to be located within the
neighbourhood centre, to serve the immediate needs of residents and visitors of the locality. It is
intended that the neighbourhood centre provides an informal village-like atmosphere, with a low
key, attractive and safe village square that engenders a ‘sense of place’ and a public focus for
local community interaction and activity.

The proposed development presents obvious conflicts with The Noosa Plan provisions as the
shopping centre development is not located within the existing neighbourhood centre (known as
Peregian Beach village), and is on land zoned Semi Attached Housing and Open Space
Recreation.

The Sustainable Planning Act 2009 provides that council may only approve the application if
there are sufficient grounds despite the conflict, and the grounds must be matters of public
interest. The following discussion topics set out whether there are sufficient grounds for council to
approve the application.
Economic Need

The proposed shopping centre is of a relatively small scale (1,596m2 + 62m2 outdoor dining) and
is to be anchored by a 950m2 supermarket. A current approval exists on the site for a mix of
commercial, retail and visitor accommodation uses, including 387m2 of retail, 306m2 of restaurant
and 62m2 of outdoor dining area. This means that the current application represents a net
addition of commercial floorspace of 903m2.

The applicant’s economic consultant (Economic Associates) undertook a needs assessment in
respect of the current proposal and concludes that the proposed supermarket responds to a gap
in the existing provision of retail facilities within Peregian Beach, with no opportunity available to
accommodate a supermarket within the existing Peregian Beach village.

Norling Consulting acting on behalf of Council, reviewed the economic report supplied with this
application, and agrees that the proposed supermarket would cater for approximately 4,000
persons within the defined catchment area extending from Peregian Beach to Marcus Beach. A
community of this size would expect to have access to some form of local convenience retail to
satisfy their top up and convenience shopping needs. The site is also better located than the


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