The Queensland State Government has awarded almost $2 million in funding to two dozen council-led planning projects in the second round of its Innovation and Improvement Fund.
Queensland Minister for State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning, Cameron Dick, said the State Government is committed to supporting councils develop innovative ways to improve their planning systems and practices.
“Our government is committed to delivering improved access to local planning and development information,” Mr Dick said.
“By doing so, we’re helping people better understand planning and development issues in their region.”
Funding recipients include Cairns Regional Council, which will receive $105,000 to create a toolkit for assisting innovative housing design suited to Far North Queensland’s tropical climate.
Lockyer Valley Council will use their $160,000 to deliver an innovative online mapping system that provides up-to-date flood hazard information on any property in the council area.
“Torres Shire’s successful application will enable them to integrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge, culture and tradition into their local planning scheme,” Mr Dick said.
“This relates to one of the goals of Queensland’s revised Planning Act, which became the first in Australia to recognise Indigenous interests in planning legislation.”
Local Government Association of Queensland Chief Executive, Greg Hallam, said state and local governments were working together to deliver better planning outcomes for Queensland through the fund.
“Round one funding has enabled councils to undertake a wide variety of innovative projects that have already delivered improvements to their planning schemes,” Mr Hallam said.
Queensland Manager of the Planning Institute of Australia, Richard Moore, said, “The fund has delivered a great opportunity for the state government to work with councils to help launch innovative projects.”
Round one funding recipient Hinchinbrook Shire Council was in 2018 awarded Planning Institute of Australia’s Best Planning Ideas Small Project Award for their interactive online mapping tool.
The web application provides their community with a platform to review property details, flood hazards and planning scheme data.
