Noosa Heads residents say they will fight a proposal to build affordable housing on a leafy block in their neighbourhood that they describe as a “treasure”.
The 790sqm lot on Toulambi Street is one of two prime locations shortlisted by the Noosa Council as it seeks a solution to the region’s worsening housing crisis.
But David McCready, whose house is adjacent, said building affordable housing there would mean the shire would lose “a rare narrow inner-urban park” with “rare and wonderful trees”.
Mayor Clare Stewart has suggested the land, which is being investigated, might suit a five-bedroom share house for key workers priced out of rentals.
However, Mr McCready said it was “highly debateable” whether such a housing solution warranted the “destruction of substantial existing native trees”.
Although some people may accuse him of being a NIMBY, Mr McCready said he was not against affordable housing, but the loss of more green space in Noosa.
Noosa has a history of fighting to protect its natural environment, but this has also led to tougher restrictions on development because of biodiversity and koala protections.
The upmarket shire, one of the most expensive places in Australia, is currently suffering an extreme housing affordability problem that the council says it is trying to address.
Mr McCready said the council’s proposal “had caused significant concern among people in the vicinity”.
The council owned-land on Toulambi Street is not parkland but backs onto Pinaroo Park, a large green space on Noosa Drive behind the Noosa Junction shops.
It was previously zoned as ‘open spaces’ but was changed to ‘low density residential’ during the pandemic in June 2020 which residents say they have only discovered now.
Mr McCready questioned the council’s motives for the zone change and asked why locals were not informed.
He said the site deserved protection.
“This landscape should be seen as a treasure about which we are merely custodians and caretakers, preserving it against a future which is increasingly threatening,” he said.
“The section apparently earmarked contains a substantial number of native species of trees.
“To ‘insert’ a development containing five housing units into that zone means these would be lost.
“For example it includes three Queensland Kauri which could reach 60m in height and live for several hundred years. These are now maximum 7m high.
“It also contains extremely rare now, Queensland Red Cedar, one of which we planted as 150mm high seedling and is now about 14m high.
“There are a string of koala food trees, over 20m now, planted by us in the hope we could attract the koalas into safe country again.”
Other trees were mahogany gum, kauri pine, silky oak, red mahogany, blue quandong, white cypress pine, tuckeroo, and an ancient paperbark melaleuca, he said.
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Noosa Mayor Clare Stewart said if the project went ahead, it would be developed in a way to protect as much greenery as possible.
“This site is zoned for residential development. Should a proposal proceed on this site it would need to consider existing vegetation and be designed in a manner that retains vegetation where possible,” said Mayor Stewart.
She said the council had a responsibility to plan for and enable housing to meet the needs of the community, especially the most vulnerable.
“Noosa’s community is facing a severe housing crisis, and this crisis is having an impact on our economy, the ability of businesses to attract and retain staff, and the liveability of our community.”
Among the support for Mr McCready is Jan Davey, co-ordinator of Flying Fox Rescue Release Noosa, who said the area was a roosting site for flying foxes, in particular the endemic grey-headed flying fox.
“Over the years these animals’ number have declined rapidly to a point of near future extinction,” she wrote in a letter to council.
“The main reasons seem to be loss of roosting sites, lack of native food due to land clearing, heat stress and dispersals.”
She warned that adding more houses to the street would spark more complaints about bats.
Mr McCready accused the council of not thinking deeply enough about solutions to the housing crisis.
He said a five-bedroom house would not fix the shire’s affordability problem and urged council to consider building upwards into the “air space”.
“The J carpark has ample space where elevated accommodation units could be built and placed without reduction in the parking spaces now available,” he said.
“That would also satisfy the new resident parking needs. At the Toulambi site, space would not allow for off street parking and intense street congestion could result.”
Mr McCready has started an online petition and has been writing to local and state politicians including the Mayor Clare Stewart and Independent MP Sandy Bolton.
