Regional planning program

Council has an ongoing commitment to land supply and development monitoring.

This allows Council to work in collaboration with the State Government, the development industry, and the community, to ensure we have enough land for housing and employment, and the right policies to promote appropriate development.

Council is undertaking several foundational investigations, which will help a new planning scheme to plan for the right development, in the right places.

These investigations, in addition to Council’s ongoing monitoring activities are explained further below. 

Urban Areas Employment Lands Investigation

The Urban Areas Employment Lands Investigation (UAELI) is part of the Reshaping our region’s planning portfolio. It is the first foundational strategic policy investigation completed that will inform preparations for a new planning scheme. The investigation will also support the implementation of the Regional Economic Development Strategy (2020-41) and the Growth Management Strategy 2042. 

The purpose of the UAELI is to investigate and analyse the remaining supply and calculate future demand for industrial land within the local government area and determine sufficient supply. 

In April 2022, Council received and noted the first UAELI report (UAELI 2022). Amongst the key findings of the UAELI 2022 report was confirmation that the city's total industry land supply (apart from restricted industry and marine industry), at the time, provided a minimum of 15 years of supply of serviced industry-zoned land.

Download a copy of the Urban Area Employment Land Investigation 2022 report(PDF, 20MB).

Read Council's media release. 

In December 2024, Council received and noted the UAELI update report 2024. The report assesses the impact of a range of changed local circumstances and regional influences on industrial land supply within the city that have occurred since the completion of the UAELI 2022. 

Key findings from the UAELI update report

  1. There has been a reduction of industry land supply in the last 2 years, with the general and light industry zone precincts being rapidly taken up. These 2 precincts were assessed to only provide for 14 years of supply, considerably less than the 26 and 32 years of supply respectively that was reported in the UAELI 2022. 
  2. General industry land in the southern half of the city, favoured for the access it provides to Brisbane, has been particularly affected and is likely to be exhausted by 2031, if not before. This is forecast to occur around the same time as Brisbane's own industrial land supplies are expected to be exhausted entirely. Planning for additional general industry supply options in the southern half of the city area is of critical importance.
  3. Demand for industry land, while difficult to predict with certainty over the longer term, is likely to remain significantly elevated compared to historical trends, including forecasts made in the UAELI 2022. 
  4. Elimbah's east and northeast business park sites are currently the primary sources of new industry land, which poses risks to the certainty and diversification of industrial land supply for the city. For example, more than half of the city's current effective supply of general industry is located in Elimbah East.
  5. The industrial precinct within the Waraba Priority Development Area is highlighted for future (medium to longer term) industrial land supply, coming online by 2036 or earlier.

Download a copy of the Urban Area Employment Land Investigation update report 2024(PDF, 2MB).

Housing Needs (Choice, Diversity and Affordable Living) Investigation

The HNI is part of the "Reshaping our Region’s Planning" Portfolio, and is the second foundational investigation (after UAELI) that will inform a new planning scheme.

The HNI has examined where and how we live now, as well as what we need to do to maintain our livable suburbs as the region grows and changes. The HNI focused on five key areas of housing:

  • choice
  • accessibility
  • location
  • affordability
  • capacity.

The key findings from the HNI report include:

  1. If current trends continue, there will be a mismatch between the types of housing available in Moreton Bay, and the types of housing people need.
  2. Moreton Bay’s population aged over 65 is growing at twice the rate as the rest of South East Queensland.
  3. Most new housing is being built in greenfield areas.
  4. Most new homes are being built in areas that are not considered to support affordable living.
  5. Moreton Bay is on-track to meet the State Government’s 2041 dwelling supply benchmark and has a theoretical capacity beyond 2051, if development occurs generally in-line densities assumed in Council’s October 2019 Planning Assumptions.
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