Future residential development around Brisbane Airport would pose a threat to its operations and economic growth, operators say.

The claims were made in a submission by Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) to the Federal Government, which is currently conducting a national aviation review.

BAC has asked Transport Minister Anthony Albanese to prevent \"suburban sprawl\", insisting inappropriate development could spell the airport\'s demise.

\"What has happened elsewhere in the world is that residential development has crept closer and closer to airports and those communities have complained about airport noise,\" BAC spokesman Jim Carden said.

\"Ironically, those airports have then had to shutdown or restrict their operations.\"

Brisbane Airport has a 6.7 kilometre \"buffer zone\" - the largest in the country - in which there is no community or housing activity.

However Mr Carden said there was potential for that to change, which could threaten the airport\'s current and future operations.

The construction of a new airport runway may not be complete until 2020, and BAC fears much could happen in that time.

\"It would be very regrettable if that new runway\'s operations were restricted because of bad planning... we need to take the opportunity now to preserve our buffer zone.\"

The short-term gains from developing land for housing would not be worth the long-term problems associated with it, he said.

BAC wants the Airport Act, which sees planning at international airports regulated by the Federal Government, to be strengthened and \"reaffirmed\".

The Act means local authorities and the State Government have no say over planning and development at the airport.

Brisbane City Council initially challenged the development of the Direct Factory Outlet retail precinct, citing concerns over increased traffic, but ultimately settled its claim with the airport.

\"We ended up with a very satisfactory outcome with council... it was a thorough vindication of the Airport Act.

\"However people still point at the DFO as being all that is wrong with airport planning, and yet - apart from the opening weekend - we have not had any traffic impacts caused by that development.\"

Measures were taken to mitigate potential traffic problems, including delaying the centre\'s opening hours, he said.

Diversifying its revenue streams through commercial and development ventures was \"critical\" to ensuring Brisbane Airport\'s future, he said.

Of the airport\'s 2700ha site, at least 1000ha had been set aside for development.

In its submission, the airport has also expressed concern about building heights in the CBD, and claims going higher in the city will have an impact on its operations.

\"We make the point in our submission that local planning authorities must be mindful of the impacts of all types of developments, including building heights.

\"In the quest for a particular building height, the impact on navigation and airspace could be overlooked.

\"The consequence of that is you have to move flight paths, so that could see aircraft redirected over suburban Brisbane - that is not a good outcome.\"

A discussion paper based on submissions from airports will now be produced.

source: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au

Developers say the State Government is \"an inefficient and ineffective developer of industrial land\" and are calling for them focus on speeding up the currently \"log-jammed\" approval process instead of \"chasing votes\".

Jones Lang LaSalle Director of Industrial Property Steve de Nys says if the State Government was to divert its recently-announced $109 million budget allocation for industrial land development towards solving the current \"planning paralysis\" and left the physical development of land to the private sector, South East Queensland would \"have a far more efficient and competitive industrial land market generating jobs and investment sooner\".

\"We don\'t need the State Government developing industrial estates, we just need them to ensure the approval process is time and cost effective,\" says de Nys.

\"Town planning approval delays have been the single biggest impediment to industrial land development in SEQ over the past 5 years.\"

These delays and costs are best illustrated through the Metroplex at Westgate development. Heralded as the ‘next generation’ business park, Stage One of the billion dollar development was set for open in August 2008, however extensive Brisbane City Council approval delays have seen that date now penciled in for a Planning and Environment Court appearance.

Along with under-resourcing and unnecessary pedanticism within the Council’s planning department, industry sources also blame the Integrated Planning Act 1997 (IPA) for allowing opponents to the development to \"dress up\" competition-based objections.

As a consequence of such delays and the inability of developers to meet market demand, de Nys says Brisbane now has the most expensive industrial land and rental rates in Australia.

A recent Jones Lang LaSalle report, Is SEQ Headed for a land drought?, of which de Nys was a co-author, shows the price of industrial land in Brisbane increased up to 189 percent between 2003 and 2007.

Compare this with Sydney and Melbourne, where on average prices have risen around 41 and 62 percent in the same four year period.

He says it also comes down to the State Government being \"an inefficient and ineffective developer of industrial land\".

One example is the Government-developed Crestmead Industrial Estate, which de Nys says has come at the \"sufferance of neighbours\".

BDS Steel owner David Kemp, who operates from within the Crestmead compound, confirms such allegations.

\"I’m the chairman of the industrial estate and we’re always having dramas with the noise, because Regents Park and the like, they’re only a couple of hundred yards away,\" he says.

The State Government also developed the Narangba Industrial Estate, which notoriously went up in flames in 2005, resulting in the contamination of the surrounding environment and a community uproar over noxious odours and the potential for leaching.

Deputy Opposition Leader and Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Planning Fiona Simpson says the Government’s failure to spend only half its 2007/08 allocation for industrial land development is further proof of the Government’s inability to effectively development land.

Furthermore, she says a large portion of the $109 million budget allocated for industrial land development in 2008/09 is a rollover from last year\'s unspent funds.

\"Altogether, 16 out of 20 industrial land development and purchase projects have been pushed back in delivery beyond 2008-09 and later,\" she says.

Both de Nys and Property Council Queensland Executive Director Steve Greenwood say a change in the approval process and an overhaul of the IPA is needed, along with the introduction of an up-to-date land supply and demand monitoring system similar to that in Victoria.

\"The private sector has demonstrated over and over again that it is more than capable of delivering quality industrial estates consistent with and responsive to market demand with approximately 637 hectares of employment-generating land earmarked to be delivered over the next 2 years,\" adds de Nys.

\"However, much of this proposed development is subject to and dependant upon Council Town Planning Approvals.\"

source: http://www.qbr.com.au

(Media-Newswire.com) - The State government has begun to sell off properties in North Brisbane that were earmarked to make way for a new freeway 30 years ago.

The Northern Transportation Corridor was created in 1971 as the route for a surface motorway through north Brisbane.

Joh Bjelke-Petersen’s National Party eventually decided not to build the road but there were angry scenes at the time as people’s homes were bulldozed to make a political statement.

Since then people near the corridor have been living with the fear that a surface freeway could still be built through their neighbourhoods.

The corridor goes through residential areas east of Lutwyche Road through Bowen Hills, Albion, Windsor, Lutwyche, Wooloowin and Kedron.

Premier Anna Bligh said she was able to finally put the nail in the coffin of the Northern Transportation Corridor because of the state government’s plans for the new Airport Link project in the area.

“This corridor caused immense community anguish when it was announced and sparked amazing protest scenes that became known as the Battle for Bowen Hills.

“Police used truncheons to beat back protestors who were trying to block demolition of their own and other people’s homes.

“Thankfully that way of treating genuine community concerns is very much a thing of the past.

“Queensland is a far better place in so many ways including respecting the wishes of the community.”

The initial disposal of the corridor makes around 43 properties available with the state government committed to only selling vacant land and houses as they become vacant.

“There will be no forced evictions to allow the sale of surplus properties in the old corridor,” said the Premier.

The community protests over the corridor ran from 1972 to 1974 and were concentrated in Bowen Hills where elderly people and migrants in particular were affected by the loss of their homes.

Police were used to quell the protesters who were dismissed by then Main Roads Minister Russ Hinze as “a pain in the neck”.

But community protests combined with rising construction costs were successful in blocking construction and by 1978 when the project was abandoned, only a single overpass had been built in Bowen Hills.

In 2005 the corridor was rejected in favour of an underground ‘western corridor’ along Lutwyche Road.

The move will be confirmed very soon when Preferred Proponent status is given for the Airport Link project.

“Airport Link is a much better choice because it is almost wholly underground and has far fewer impacts on the community both during and after construction,” Ms Bligh said.

“It also provides better linkages with other road and public transport projects and is a smarter and congestion busting solution all round.”

Premiers: ( 07 ) 32244500

source:  www.media-newswire.com

The Queensland Government says it wants 17 parcels of undeveloped land on the market within a year to help improve housing affordability in the state\'s south-east.

Premier Anna Bligh says the need for new housing land is clear.

\"The south-east will gain an average of up to 60,000 new residents every year until 2026,\" she said.

Since last year, a review has been underway looking for land that could be fast-tracked to market.

Seventeen sites have been identified around Brisbane, Ipswich, the Gold and Sunshine Coasts and Redlands.

Housing affordability was also a feature of yesterday\'s State Budget, with the Government announcing stamp duty cuts.

The Treasurer will promote the Budget at a Labor lunch today.

But the Opposition is continuing its attack with newspaper ads, accusing the Government of plunging Queensland into debt.

source:abc.net.au

HOMEOWNERS are turning to renovation rather than adding their properties to a market bursting with listings.

A recent survey by Archicentre, the building advisory service for the Australian Institute of Architects, found 46 per cent of homeowners looking to sell now planned to stay put and renovate than risk joining a slowing market.

Serial renovator Stephen Shay and his partner Patricia Comerford, who are renovating their house at Shorncliffe on Brisbane\'s northside, said they were happy to take their time to renovate their home.

\"I\'ve done a lot of renovations in the past, probably more than 10 over the years,\'\' Mr Shay said. \"In the past I\'ve looked to fix them up quick to make the fast buck, but because we\'re happy to stay here for quite a while yet, we want to try and get it just right.\'\'

Paul Eslick, of renovation specialists Reno Kings, said he expected a lot of homeowners would look to improve their properties to make them more attractive in a competitive market.

He said the increased number of homes on the market was likely to force house prices down in the next few months.

\"I definitely think we\'ll see people doing more renovations,\'\' he said.

\"Money is going to be harder to get (from buyers), but I think what\'s going to happen is we\'re going to see a lot of savvy investors picking up some really good, cheap buys and doing them up.\'\'

However, Mr Eslick said renovators were still running into problems with sourcing tradespeople because of the nation\'s skills shortage.

In Queensland, owner-builders can carry out works up to $11,000 on their own land without having to have an owner-builder permit from the Building Services Authority.

\"What we also tell a lot of people to do is go out and put an ad in the paper for a retired builder, someone who only wants to do work two or three days a week and still has his licence and his insurance,\'\' Mr Eslick said.

\"We\'ve had people get a lot of response by doing this sort of thing.\'\'

Gold Coast property investor Pat Fleming is on her fourth renovation. Ms Fleming said she found the best way to find reliable tradespeople was to talk to other property investors.

source: news.com.au

TWO of Queensland\'s most powerful mayors have vowed to fight a State Government decision to change restrictions that protect most of the undeveloped land in the southeast.

TWO of Queensland\'s most powerful mayors have vowed to fight a State Government decision to change restrictions that protect most of the undeveloped land in the southeast.

Gold and Sunshine Coast mayors Ron Clarke and Bob Abbot said they would contest Premier Anna Bligh\'s call to rewrite the South East Queensland Regional Plan (SEQRP).

The mayors have warned that Ms Bligh\'s plan would create a precedent that could affect councils across the state by robbing them of the ability to monitor development in their region.

The plan protects 80 per cent of the region\'s greenfield land – previously undeveloped or agricultural land including 1000ha of protected bushland and koala habitat on the Gold Coast and large tracts of Sunshine Coast cane farmland.

Cr Clarke described Ms Bligh\'s June 4 announcement about the plan re-write as \"terrifying\".

He fears it could lead to a state-appointed planning council made up of developers.

\"If this goes ahead we\'ll see wall-to-wall suburbs between the Gold Coast and Brisbane,\" Cr Clarke said.

Then-premier Peter Beattie introduced the SEQRP in 2005 to protect green areas. But Ms Bligh said development restrictions would be rewritten to fast-track development and expand the urban footprint along guidelines that determine where development occurs.

Ms Bligh said the Government would \"remove regulatory hurdles\" on 17 greenfield sites and consider development on a further 25. She said the controversial move to build on a possible total of 40,000ha of undeveloped land would provide cheap homes for first-time buyers.

Areas highlighted for immediate development include Oxley Wedge, Upper Kedron and Rochedale in Brisbane; Market Drive and North Lakes in Moreton Bay Council area; Kinross Rd and southeast Thornlands in Redlands; Ripley Valley, Springfield and Redbank Plains in Ipswich, Flagstone in Logan; Coomera and Helensvale on the Gold Coast; and Maroochydore, Meridian Plains, Palm View and Caloundra South on the Sunshine Coast.

Cr Abbot said he was angered by the backflip. He said Ms Bligh sprang the decision on newly elected mayors still organising recently amalgamated councils.

\"What we need to do is build a case against the state to say this can\'t happen in this way.\"

Opposition infrastructure spokeswoman Fiona Simpson said greenlighting development without necessary roads or public transport could create \"permanent gridlock\" and make some areas \"unlivable\".

source: couriermail.com.au