Take a leap into 2046 and envision a local population increase that could be up to 250,000 people. With that in mind, think of how you would like Redland City to look and feel in 23 years.
Can you see a landscape with seven storey high-rise and house and land packages built on 200sq m blocks?
In response to these building concepts laid out in the state government’s draft Redland Housing Strategy 2023-2046, mayor Karen Williams gave a hard no.
“It’ll be the death of the backyard in the Redlands and, in turn, the death of the backyard for our entire region,” she said.
Cr Williams said that while she understood the need to plan and provide for additional housing, she did not believe the draft strategy identified correct locations for such developments.
“Providing a significant increase in housing across the city without any state commitment to provide critical infrastructure such as main roads upgrades and improved public transport would have a significant negative impact on our community and the Redlands Coast lifestyle,” she said.
Cr Williams’ viewpoint corresponds with information revealed in the government’s recent community consultation process which found the community considered “the delivery of infrastructure as integral to decisions about housing which should be required ahead of (or at least concurrently with), the approval of significant additional housing supply.”
“The state wants more height in areas well-serviced by public transport like Cleveland, but they also want to increase density in areas that are really poorly serviced by their transport network,” Cr Williams said.
“People living in areas like Mt Cotton Village and Redland Bay could end up with three or four homes next door where there is currently one.”
