A parcel of land in the Noosa hinterland could be set aside for affordable housing after councillors discussed the future of the property behind closed doors.
The disposal of land for community housing on a 3.5-hectare site at Cooroy was reviewed at a confidential session during Noosa Council’s May general committee meeting.
Located at 62 Lake Macdonald Drive, the site was earmarked for potential future housing use in the Noosa Housing Strategy, endorsed in November 2022.
A key outcome of the strategy aims to ensure housing is available for all members of the Noosa Shire community, including low to moderate income earners.
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The site is adjacent to the Cooroy Cemetery and currently occupied by a storage shed used for the cemetery.
In a public summary of meeting minutes released after the session, it revealed a report was delivered to the council regarding the disposal of the land to Coast2Bay Housing Group “for the purpose of delivering the community housing outcomes”.
Coast2Bay Housing Group is a not-for-profit company that provides affordable, safe and appropriate homes to individuals and families throughout the Sunshine Coast, Noosa, Moreton Bay, Redcliffe and Gympie regions.
According to the public summary, councillors moved to “delegate to the CEO the power to perform the actions required to undertake the subdivision” of the land.
This includes actions regarding the tender and contract process for remediation and subdivision works, and finalising the subdivision works.
According to the Noosa Housing Strategy, 62 Lake Macdonald Drive is council-owned land currently zoned for community facilities.
The strategy outlines that the potential for future housing on the site would include appropriate consultation with the local community at a later date.
Noosa Council had previously rejected an application for community housing at a site at 55 Carpenters Road, Cooroy due to conflicts identified with the Noosa Plan 2020 and Noosa Housing Strategy 2022.
At the time, then Noosa Council acting CEO Larry Sengstock told Sunshine Coast News the council was working with housing providers to explore options for a site of council-owned land in Cooroy.
Other locations for affordable housing mentioned in the housing strategy include an area north of Doonella Street at Tewantin, as well as locations at Sunrise Beach.
It would look to investigate development opportunities around the Sunrise Beach Neighbourhood Centre and to change the zoning of 36-48 Ben Lexcen Drive at Sunrise Beach to allow redevelopment for multiple dwellings.
The aerial imagery in this story is from Australian location intelligence company Nearmap. The company provides government organisations, architectural, construction and engineering firms, and other companies with easy, instant access to high-resolution aerial imagery, city-scale 3D content, artificial intelligence data sets, and geospatial tools to assist with urban planning, monitoring and development projects in Australia, New Zealand and North America.
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