More than 450 planning applications approved in past year

Noosa Council planning approvals for the past 12 months show that being green doesn’t mean restricting development or limiting creativity in business.

Council said yes to 471 planning applications during the past 12 months, whereas just six were refused. That means 99% of all planning applications were approved.

Planning and Environment Manager Kerri Coyle said that of the six planning applications Council refused in the past year, only one was a building project. 

“Four were requests to remove healthy trees, one was an application to allow permanent residential at a holiday home development, and the other was for a new nursing home on land with a high bushfire risk,” she said.

Meanwhile, Noosa Council gave approvals for boutique breweries, a chocolatier, and two aquaculture businesses to operate in the industrial estate. 

“This shows that Council is responsive to changing business needs,” says Mayor Tony Wellington.

“Although the aquaculture businesses, for example, are an agricultural use, these are well-suited to the industrial estate, and Council recognised that. They’re essentially buildings with tanks to produce fish. Thus they’re compatible with other businesses in the area. 

“With the boutique breweries Council recently approved, they include significant beer-brewing areas, which meets the industrial use. But the applicants also wanted to add bars and tasting areas to complement their businesses. These aspects were not so readily supported by the planning scheme. 

“But we recognise that people today are seeking different consumer experiences, whether it’s craft beer or some other product they can access direct from the manufacturer. Buyers want to know the provenance of their purchases. From Council’s point of view, it’s all about being more flexible to meet these changing needs, without diminishing those key attributes that define Noosa.”

Planning Scheme Project Manager Raul Weychardt said Council was considering how the new planning scheme, currently being drafted, could better support an emerging trend toward mixed use businesses.

27 July 2017