The public notification period for the proposed development of 104 hectares at Twin Waters West – the third such application since 2008 – has opened.
Developer Stockland lodged a development application with Sunshine Coast Council in May, seeking approval for a new master-planned residential community between the Maroochy River and Sunshine Motorway.
Two proposals to develop the site have previously been lodged, in 2008 and 2018, but were knocked back by council, in 2009 and 2020 respectively. Stockland appealed the decisions through the courts but these were ultimately rejected in 2013 and 2022.
Related story: Developer returns with new master plan for site
The new development application report, prepared by Project Urban, says the latest proposal “responds to the findings of the 2022 Planning and Environment Court decision about the previous proposal over the land and achieves compliance, which in many instances involves development outcomes exceeding minimum standards”.
Twin Waters West and Surrounds Inc president Kathryn Hyman said the group was still analysing applications documents and was “not in a position to have a ‘position’”, but said it was paramount any development was done within the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme.
“There remains non-conformities with the Planning Scheme but we are still analysing all the documents. From a first-principles basis, we all must abide by the Planning Scheme to the greatest extent possible,” she said.
Ms Hyman said some issues from the previous two applications had been changed but other concerns remained.
“The developer has made an attempt to address failings from the last court judgment and no more, which is thoroughly disappointing,” she said.
“For example, the weir and hard infrastructure is still located in the conservation park.
“There may be a reduction in density for the first two stages. However, subsequent stages of the development over 10 years can be subject to change and these subsequent stages will be code assessable – there will be no public notification or submission period. There will also be no legal avenue for appeal.
“The devil is in the detail, and the unknown. These changes will affect other aspects of the masterplan design and function.”
A Stockland spokesperson said the development application reflected the requirements of Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme as well as the Planning and Environment Court’s decision handed down last year.
“The new development application encompasses the court’s outcomes, including enhanced sustainability measures and improvement to residential character requirements,” they said.
“The new masterplan incorporates the input of many stakeholders and aligns with the Sunshine Coast Council Planning Scheme.
“Twin Waters West is designed to achieve flood resilience, including under climate change scenarios, and not to increase flood levels in areas external to the site, including Twin Waters.”
The spokesperson said the new masterplan included a 50-metre buffer to the central wetland, greater than the 30 metres required under the Planning Scheme, and provided greater conservation and protection from residential areas with enhanced stormwater quality approaches.
They said the local residential density also complied with council requirements, with average lot sizes of 700sqm and a minimum lot size of 500sqm, as well as the removal of medium-density sites from the revised masterplan. There would be about 450 lots in total.
In a letter to members on August 19, Twin Waters Residents’ Association president Sophie Lever said the crucial question to the group was whether any development on the site was equal to or better than the existing Twin Waters.
“The TWRA’s long-standing special TWW sub-committee reviewed available information and made a recommendation to the full 2022-23 management committee at its most recent meeting on July 27,” she wrote.
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“While successive TWRA committees over 15 years since 2008 have supported the stance TWRA has taken on TWW, on this occasion, two newer residents and committee members did not support the recommendation from the TWW sub-committee.
“The above information is provided to members in the interests of disclosure and transparency, which has been TWRA’s practice throughout this long-running saga …
“The majority view of the 2022-23 committee was that it is and that in some respects it is better than Twin Waters – wider streets, walkable waterfronts (no revetment wall issues for residents), larger parks, a community centre and the kangaroo reserve habitat with a viewing platform.”
Ms Lever said all members were “strongly encouraged” to make their views known to council as part of the public notification process.
Ms Hyman said she expected Twin Waters West and Surrounds Inc – which was formed in 2017 and has more than 1000 members – to have a stance “within a few weeks” after analysing the “volumes of technical documents”.
“Stockland could and should do better in their third attempt at proposing an appropriate development of the site, and our council needs to uphold the primacy of our Planning Scheme and hold this developer, who claims to be the best in the business, to a high standard of design, liveability and compliance,” she said.
Sunshine Coast News attempted to contact other community groups including Sunshine Coast Environment Council, Development Watch and Organisation of Sunshine Coast Association of Residents for their views on the proposal but did not receive responses by deadline.
Submissions can be made here and are open until September 29. More details about the proposal are available on the council’s development.i website.
Do you have an opinion to share? Submit a Letter to the Editor at Sunshine Coast News via news@sunshinecoastnews.com.au. You must include your name and suburb.
