A parcel of council-owned land that was once used for night soil, landfill and bottle disposals is set to be utilised for new social and affordable housing.
Noosa councillors recently approved a remediation process to prepare the land at Cooroy for subdivision, with the first 3000sqm lot to be sold to not-for-profit Coast2Bay Housing.
Acting mayor Brian Stockwell said it would be of significant benefit.
“This is an exciting project that delivers on a key action from our Housing Strategy to facilitate the rollout of new social and low-cost housing for our community,” he said.
Council’s CEO Larry Sengstock will oversee remediation of the site at 62 Lake Macdonald Drive, as well as the subdivision process and negotiation of the sale of Lot 1 to Coast2Bay.
“Coast2Bay is an established and respected not-for-profit provider of affordable and social housing with access to state and federal funding to support delivery of new housing stock,” Cr Stockwell said.
“We signed an MoU with Coast2Bay in 2022. They are a key member of our Housing Stakeholder Reference Group and we enjoy a strong working relationship with their team, which has helped pave the way for the delivery of this exciting project.”
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The former night soil, landfill and bottle disposal site from the 1950s and 1960s is vacant and free from flooding or bushfire hazard overlays.
The site is adjacent to the Cooroy Cemetery and currently occupied by a storage shed used for the cemetery.
Environment and strategy director Kim Rawlings said council would thoroughly remediate the land before any civil works or housing construction began.
“Soil recycling trials indicate we can successfully decontaminate the site to meet the stringent standards required for housing land,” she said.
“This initiative is just one of a range of ways council is working to deliver social and affordable housing for our community, as well as advocate for more state and federal housing investment.”
Last year, council wrote to 900 short-stay property owners to encourage them to transfer their properties to the permanent rental market.
The council also partnered with Youturn to establish two tiny homes on council land.
These are among a raft of actions detailed in the council’s Housing Strategy, developed with the local community.
“We’re currently consulting our community on proposed planning scheme amendments to pave the way for a greater range of housing and further tighten controls on short-stay letting,” Cr Stockwell said.
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