Since its commencement in February 2016, the Gold Coast City Plan has undergone several amendments in response to emerging opportunities and planning challenges to ensure it continues to reflect community aspirations and support a growing City.
The most recent amendment, City Plan Version 10, commenced on 4 July 2023 and incorporates six amendment packages:
- Major Update 2 & 3 (in part)
- Major Update to City Plan Policies (Schedule 6)
- City Plan Major Amendment – Heritage overlay provisions
- Local Government Infrastructure Plan Amendment
- Minor and Administrative Amendment 9
- Minor and Administrative Amendment to City Plan Policies (Schedule 6) Land development guidelines
What are the key amendments?
The Minister approved 21 of the proposed 34 items comprising the Major Update 2 & 3 amendment package. The balance 13 items were not supported by the Minister due to potential impacts on the City’s housing supply.
A series of subsequent amendment packages are now proposed by Council for the unsupported items. These have been broken into three amendment packages:
- Amendment A – New Low-medium density residential zone and code, building height conversion (height measured in metres only) and other locational changes
- Amendment B – Housing supply and diversity
- Amendment C – Light rail urban renewal area overlay
The most notable changes in the Gold Coast City Plan Version 10 include:
- Upper Coomera investigation area converting Rural and Rural residential land to Emerging community zone to support new urban land supply in the northern growth area.
- Removal of investigation areas which identified potential future urban land across the City.
- Changes to the transport code, access easements, and driveways & vehicle crossings code.
- Series of changes to environmental and rural / rural residential precinct mapping.
- Amendment of the Local Government Infrastructure Plan (LGIP) incorporating updated planning assumptions and projections to 2041, desired standards of service, new stormwater quality component within trunk infrastructure plans, and financial modelling and forecasting.
- Revised Heritage overlay, strategic framework, table of assessment and code provisions to provide clarity of development requirements within and around local heritage places.
What do the amendments mean for my future development?
The amendments incorporated into Version 10 will now need to be considered for new development proposals; however, the amendments most likely to have impacted development, including housing supply and diversity across the City, were held back by the Minister.
The Planning Act 2016 makes provision for a development application / proposal to be assessed against the provisions of a superseded scheme via a ‘superseded planning scheme request’. Applications must be made to Council within one year after the new scheme comes into effect.
How can Barker Ryan Stewart assist?
We have a comprehensive understanding of the Gold Coast City Plan Version 10, and can provide urban planning, civil engineering, infrastructure planning and project management services to assist with achieving development approval for your next development.
For further information on how the City Plan amendments may affect your current or future development on the Gold Coast, please don’t hesitate to contact our QLD Planning Manager, Nicole Webb at nicolew@brs.com.au or on 07 5582 6555.
