Ipswich City Council says it is taking in 30 per cent of new residents to south-east Queensland but state and federal investment in critical infrastructure is not keeping up.
Mayor Teresa Harding said the City of Ipswich had experienced the “most rapid population growth of any local government area in Queensland”.
“With more than 6,100 new residents moving in each year, that is the equivalent of a town the size of Beaudesert moving in every 12 months,” she said.
“In our most recent planning report card, there were close to 350 new houses completed in the first three months of the year – nearly four houses a day, every day of the week, during the quarter.”
Ms Harding said the majority of residents were moving into greenfield master-planned communities in Springfield and the Ripley Valley, with some moving into brownfield and infill developments in Ipswich Central and suburbs in the city’s west.
She said Ipswich’s population was expected to more than double within 20 years.
The SEQ Regional Plan 2017 has the city earmarked to house 520,000 people by 2041, up from 240,000.
“Ipswich is doing much of the heavy lifting to deliver quality, affordable, and liveable housing solutions, but we’re being let down by state and federal governments who aren’t investing equivalent money in critical infrastructure such as road and rail upgrades, or on other critical infrastructure,” she said.
Ms Harding said the Ripley Valley priority development area was likely the largest master-planned development in the country and provided opportunity for housing at a range of densities.
She said low density housing was in high demand but land was being preserved for higher densities.
But she said that land couldn’t be developed due to a lack of transport infrastructure from the state and federal governments.
Low density housing is in high demand in Ripley Valley.(Supplied: Stockland)
“At this point, Ripley Valley is only serviced by bus services that are failing to meet the needs of the residents,” she said.
“Without reliable and efficient public transport, these residents are being cut off from access to jobs, education and essential services.”
Ms Harding said the state government’s $45 million investment fund for infrastructure in Ripley Valley was an important first step but was still “well short” of the $1.2 billion in essential infrastructure funding that was allocated for the Yarrabilba and Greater Flagstone priority development areas in 2019.
Article source: www.abc.net.au