Adoption Of Noosa Council Strategic Land Activation Policy

Nicola Wilson24:25

Thank you, everybody. Okay. Next item on the agenda is 5.3: adoption of Council Strategic Land Activation Policy. Very exciting. And we have Trent and Robyn to present this report.

Good afternoon, Councillors, and thank you for the opportunity to present the Strategic Land Activation Policy for adoption by Council. Noosa Council is known for its aspirational vision and broad-ranging strategies and goals. Among our most valuable resources are our land assets, which have the potential to directly support and advance our strategic objectives. However, realising this potential requires a consistent best practice approach. The policy before you for adoption is designed as an operational guide and toolkit to bridge the gap between our assets and our ambitions. This policy is about making sure we're getting the most out of these assets in a way that benefits our region. Economically, socially and environmentally. The policy provides a practical step-by land activation framework to guide how we activate and develop our land thoughtfully and effectively. It's designed as a toolkit for staff and decision makers. Designed to ensure we approach each project with due diligence, thorough assessment and a solid understanding of potential benefits or constraints. Importantly, this policy doesn't create any new decision-making powers. Instead, it's focused on establishing a clear and consistent process to inform decision-making. We're also introducing an internal working group as part of the land activation framework that will have representation from across Council. And this group will ensure each proposal is carefully reviewed, making sure that we meet goals and align with vision our long for Council and for the region. By adopting this policy we're working towards a stronger foundation to make the best use of our resources. It also helps us avoid risks like inconsistent decision-making or missed opportunities and hopefully we'll create new avenues to grow our region's economy, enhance our community spaces and protect our environment. Thank you.

Nicola Wilson47:19

Thank you. I'm going to move to a motion. The Council note the report by the Acting Director Corporate Services to the Services & Organisation Committee. Dated 12th November 2024 and adopted Strategic Land Activation Policy provided as attachment one to the report. Do I have someone to second? No. Councillor Phillips. Thank you. I'll speak to the motion. This is a very future-focused policy. Thank you for all your work in getting us to this point and also, as I said, the work that you've gone through already to identify and document all of the land. And assets that the Council owns so that we can identify these opportunities. I'm really excited about the register of opportunities that we'll be able to manage in the future and also noting that this is about activating potentially under-utilised underutilised land at the moment, although there are other elements too, and in a time where we are very, very short on land in the Shire, this is an excellent tool to be able to both identify those opportunities, but then also make sure that across the organisation we've got consistency. Efficiency and equity as well, so not everything is about an economic outcome, as you said, it's definitely about community and recreation and all of those things too, so this is a really great starting point for the future to be able to manage our land and to be able to make sure that there is equity across the shore the Shire and to be able to manage all different departments and all different types of uses in the future. Thank you, and so yeah, I recommend the motion. Anybody else want pretty to speak?

Karen Finzel49:27

Yes, thank you Madam Chair. I'll be brief. Everything's been said. I'm excited about this idea of providing collaborative approach to leadership and good governance is fantastic. New Councillors, new I appreciate the diligence and the just excellence towards keeping our strategic planning really informative to help us make good decisions when it comes to future generations and how we've, for example, used our land and created opportunities for innovation. I think it's fantastic. I want to applaud all the staff and everyone that's worked on this. I think together we're heading towards the right direction and I think it's really good for the best use of our resources in providing a land activation policy that will be a guide to bridging assets and our ambition. Remembering we are of course Different by Nature so I think this is leading us towards a future that we all desire to see so thank you.