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Town plan controversy
14 April 2007
The Sippy Downs Town Plan is surfacing as controversial, as the period for its implementation draws closer.
The main issue seems to be the amount of commercial and retail space that is going to be permissible.
There is no question that since the framing of the original ‘Development Control Plan’ in 1995 and 1996 the circumstances have changed dramatically at Sippy Downs, and one of the most important factors, land costs, has escalated.
That escalation has an obvious impact on what is now seen to be financially viable.
For the University and Maroochy Shire Council the intent is to build a world class university town centre, like no other on the Coast, with a heavy focus on knowledge, the generation of new economy jobs influenced by technology, in an urban fabric that complements the University, and attracts also, a new class of entrepreneurial people who can access the University resources, and the nearby leisure and cultural opportunities.
That was, and I believe remains, the vision but land prices are now influencing reconsideration of densities and the retail/commercial metreage.
In 1996 we wanted to avoid the major supermarkets locating here with their ugly cement blocks and massive car parks. They would do little to address new economy job generation that the Coast needs so much. Instead, we wanted a boutique shopping environment, mixed density living spaces, and a technology park.
But achieving the ambience of a James Street in Fortitude Valley depends on housing densities, and households with disposable incomes that are not yet a part of Sippy Downs in the volume required to sustain such a precinct.
So some serious negotiations need to take place on what is and is not commercially feasible. There have to be benefits for the developers wishing to drive change, but also for the University, the region and the economy.
Everyone, I believe, is willing to discuss constructively the future of Sippy Downs so that it has a unique place and complements the major city centres, rather than competes.
For our part at the University, across twelve years we have been consistent in the vision we want realised for the benefit of the Sunshine Coast. It is important that we get this equation right, and quickly, or yet another chance to become world class will have been squandered.
Professor Paul Thomas AM is Vice-Chancellor of University of the Sunshine Coast