PLACEnews April 2010 Issue 6
The ULDA in Central Queensland
The Urban Land Development Authority (ULDA) has ventured out of Brisbane for the first time with the declaration of a new Urban Development Area (UDA) in Central Queensland.
The new site at Gladstone, 500km north of Brisbane, is 26 hectares of state government land, six kilometres south-west of the CBD and one and a half kilometres south of the Gladstone Airport.
The UDA is the fourth for the ULDA and will see the youthful organisation deliver a diversity of housing in a regional centre currently experiencing housing stress.
Over the past five years housing affordability has declined significantly around Gladstone. A resources boom is currently hitting the region and the impact on local housing prices is making home ownership beyond the reach of many local residents. This coupled with a lack of smaller housing options for prospective Gladstone buyers makes Clinton an ideal project for the ULDA.
The Queensland Government has earmarked the Clinton UDA as a demonstration site for regional housing diversity. The ULDA is excited at the prospect of undertaking a planned integrated and sustainable residential community which will incorporate best practice urban design to provide relief to the current housing situation.
Planning and design will also ensure that development within the Clinton UDA will complement existing residential development adjacent to the site and provide links between the existing and new neighbourhoods, the adjoining Clinton State School and nearby sporting grounds. The inclusion of the school in the UDA ensures the school community has a prime position in consultation and input into planning the development.
The ULDA will work jointly with the Gladstone Regional Council to deliver this project, providing a valuable learning opportunity for the council on delivering affordable housing and innovative design. A key component of the Clinton UDA will be a wider diversity of house and land packages than is currently available with a focus on smaller lots. However, the purchaser seeking the traditional size house and land package will also be catered for within the development.
The ULDA expects work to commence at Clinton before the end of 2010 and the first 15 - 20 lots should be available for purchase around the middle of 2011. The Clinton UDA will comprise more than 230 lots in total, which will be released to the market gradually over the next four and a half years.
