Formerly unusable council land will be freed up for new social housing and other uses after councillors last week endorsed a revised plan for the site.
The land at 62 Lake Macdonald Drive, Cooroy, will be remediated by Noosa Council, with more than 3000sqm to be used for an architect-designed 25-unit social housing project by Coast2Bay, and about 14,000sqm to be used for as-yet-undetermined “community purposes”.
The site was used for night soil, landfill and bottle disposal until around the 1950s.
The council will remediate the 3000sqm Lot 1 for housing, plus the remaining 14,000sqm in Lots 2 and 3 subject to securing a loan or grant funding. Scroll down to see the site plan.
Mayor Frank Wilkie said the units would help address the housing crisis and be a key action point of the Noosa Housing Strategy.
“It’s the biggest single investment in social housing in this shire and a clear commitment to helping deliver affordable housing for those in most need,” he said.
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“The site needs to be thoroughly remediated before any civil works or housing construction can begin.
“We’re acting on our social and environmental responsibility by immediately removing contaminants from this site, so its true value and the use to the community can be fully realised.
“We’ll be asking the community what may be done with the remaining 14,000sqm of land, which could include open space, cultural heritage projects, housing and other community purposes.
“Responding to feedback from neighbouring residents, the revised layout includes a vegetated buffer that was doubled in size to 10 metres wide and an extra 2500sqm of open space.
“Focused planning has the potential to make this a signature project in Queensland and a local response to the widening inequality gap we’re seeing across the country.”
A memorandum of understanding was signed in 2022 with Coast2Bay, which will need to lodge a development application for approval, providing the community with an opportunity to review the proposal prior to any formal construction.
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“It’s clear that tackling housing affordability and homelessness requires collaboration between industry, all levels of government and the community,” Cr Wilkie said.
“We will continue to work with all stakeholders on the balance of the site to create a positive legacy everyone can be proud of.”
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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