Developers behind a proposed housing estate and retail centre in Bli Bli have warned there is a “pressing need” for more residential land at the northern end of the Sunshine Coast.
An application has been lodged with Council to rezone 51 hectares of rural land to make way for Parklakes Central, the third stage of the Parklakes estates.
In a report to Sunshine Coast Council, the proponents have warned there is just over two years of land left north of the Maroochy River.
The companies, Focus Estates and One Man Bli Bli, have applied for a material change of use for their site on Lefoes Road and Yandina-Bli Bli Road, which is currently zoned rural.
Their masterplan proposes a mix of retirement living, medium-density housing (such as apartments and townhouses) and low-density detached housing.
The homes would encircle a large man-made lake and the estate would have parks and a conservation area.
The plan is for 283 “manufactured homes” — which are dwellings not attached to the land and common in retirement villages — for an over-50s community.
There would also be 197 low-density houses and 95 medium-density properties.
A significant retail centre to service the estate and surrounds would have a large supermarket, service station and childcare centre.
“Given there is a limited supply of un-subdivided residential zoned land available for development in the Bli Bli and surrounding area, there is a need for the proposed residential uses in this location,” says the Economic Need and Impact Assessment report prepared by Foresight Planning.
The Bli Bli-Maroochy River Plains area is a mix of urban and rural residential lots among lowland floodplain and elevated areas north of the Maroochy River.
It was once a significant cane-growing part of the Coast but is now popular with families and retirees.
In its report, Foresight Planning warns that the northern end of the Coast — from the Maroochy River to Doonan and Nambour — does not have enough greenfield land to cater to the expected influx of people.
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“With the limited availability of large greenfield residential zoned land parcels, it is clear that there is a pressing need for additional residential lots at the Sunshine Coast regional
level,” it says.
The bulk of new blocks coming onto the market in the future on the Sunshine Coast are confined to Aura and Harmony on the southern end.
“The two largest masterplan developments (Palmview and Caloundra South/Aura) provide the capacity to meet part of the region’s growth needs in the short term,” says the report.
“However, residential land supply north of Maroochydore remains seriously constrained.
“As at October 2021, there were 1,160 houses and 171 vacant lots for sale within the Sunshine Coast LGA.
“Only 312 (26.7%) of these houses and 43 (25.1%) of the vacant lots were identified in localities north of Maroochydore.”
Since April 2020, migration to the Coast has soared and that trend is expected to continue for the next 20 years.
Foresight Planning has projected the population will increase by 164, 255 people over the next 20 years, using Queensland Statistician’s Office data from 2018 rebased with the latest ABS population figures.
But the report warns that without enough land on which to build new housing, affordability will become an increasing problem.
“Residential land is becoming increasingly unaffordable in the Sunshine Coast LGA; the price of residential land per square metre in the Sunshine Coast LGA is the second highest for any region in South-East Queensland,” states the report.
Foresight Planning estimates a shortfall of 950 detached homes on the northern end of the Coast in the next four years to 2026, which is only 2.3 years’ supply and “well below the State Government benchmark of 4 years’ of approved lot supply”.
“This is expected to increase to a shortfall of around 3,390 detached dwellings by 2036, without further additions to the supply,” the report states.
It says the loss of the subject site as rural zoned land “should not be cause for concern”.
“The immediate need for the proposed residential uses overrides the minimal need for the use of the subject land for rural land uses,” it states.
Shortfall of over-50s estates
The popularity of the Sunshine Coast with retirees has led to high demand for over-50s living which the report warns is also in short supply.
The retirement-living age group is projected to increase from 40 per cent of the region’s population to 43.5 per cent in the next 20 years.
“The proportion of residents aged 50+ is far higher in the Sunshine Coast region (40.0%) compared to Queensland (34.3%) at 2021,” states the report.
“At present, there is a significant undersupply of retirement living facilities in the
Sunshine Coast region, illustrated by an estimated shortfall of 1,160 retirement
dwellings at 2021.”
By 2031 that would be a forecast shortfall of 3,225 retirement dwellings.
Parklakes Central vision
The site on Lefoes Road and Yandina-Bli Bli Road is located on the northeast urban fringe of Bli Bli around 2km north of the existing local centre.
It is bordered by low density residential uses to the south and west, and rural land to the north and east.
The developers say the proposed retail centre site would front Yandina–Bli Bli Road and be accessible to residents of the Parklakes estate and other northern Bli Bli residents.
The developer estimates that, if approved, the low and medium density residential components would be completely developed by mid-2027, and the over-50s section by mid-2028.
The retail centre with supermarket would be open mid-2025.
