COMMUNITIES in the Western Growth Corridor are asked to have an input into the futures of Rosewood, Walloon and Thagoona.
Ipswich City Council Committee chair Cr Andrew Antoniolli said the Western Growth Corridor was one of three major growth fronts around the city.
“Council is committed to making sure its growth was well-planned and sustainable,” he said.
“Alongside the areas of Ripley and Springfield, the Western Growth Corridor incorporating the areas of Rosewood, Walloon and Thagoona is a high growth area.”
The State Government earmarked the corridor for urban purposes as early as 2005 in the first SEQ Regional Plan.
The corridor was expanded in Shaping SEQ 2023, adding an additional 182 hectares to the urban footprint in 2023.
“Over the next two decades, we expect the number of residents who call the Western Growth Corridor area home, to grow from about 10,000 today to more than 70,000,” Cr Antoniolli said.
“To make sure this growth is managed in a well-planned and sustainable way, council is developing a Western Growth Corridor Structure Plan.
“The structure plan, supported by an infrastructure plan, will guide the area’s long-term development and provide certainty for residents, businesses and developers about how the area can be developed.
“It will address issues such as housing, infrastructure, environmental conservation and community facilities.”
He said the plan was in its early development stages.
“It will eventually be considered for future integration into the recently adopted Ipswich City Plan 2025.
“The Ipswich City Plan 2025 guides development across the city but also allows for more detailed area plans to address important growth-management issues at a local level.
“The first step in developing the structure plan is a community survey to find out more about how the community sees these suburbs now and in the future.”
The community is being asked to share its views on how the area should be developed through a short survey which will be available until July 13.
The survey results will be used to help prepare a draft structure plan before it is presented to the community later this year for further feedback.
The Western Growth Corridor is being prepared with $500,000 secured by Ipswich City Council through stream one of the Federal Government’s Housing Support Program, which aims to help improve planning capability of state, territory and local governments.