Enabling Water Sensitive Greenfield Development in Townsville
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CRC for Water Sensitive Cities | 1 2 | Enabling water sensitive greenfield development in Townsville Enabling water sensitive greenfield development in Townsville Guiding integrated urban and water planning (IRP3) IRP3-3-2020 Authors Sylvia Tawfik1.2, Belinda Smith1, Chris Chesterfield1 1Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, 2 School of Social Sciences and Monash Art Design & Architecture, Monash University © 2020 Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities Ltd. This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of it may be reproduced by any process without written permission from the publisher. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction rights should be directed to the publisher. Publisher Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities PO Box 8000 Monash University LPO Clayton, VIC 3800 e. [email protected] w. www.watersensitivecities.org.au Date of publication: July 2020 An appropriate citation for this document is: Tawfik, S. Smith, B., and Chesterfield, C. (2020). Enabling water sensitive greenfield development in Townsville. Melbourne, Australia: Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities. Disclaimer The CRC for Water Sensitive Cities has endeavoured to ensure that all information in this publication is correct. It makes no warranty with regard to the accuracy of the information provided and will not be liable if the information is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date nor be liable for any direct or indirect damages arising from its use. The contents of this publication should not be used as a substitute for seeking independent professional advice. CRC for Water Sensitive Cities | 3 Table of contents List of abbreviations .................................................................................................................................................................. 4 Executive summary ................................................................................................................................................................... 5 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................. 7 1.1 IRP3: Guiding Integrated Urban and Water Planning ................................................................................... 7 1.2 Townsville action learning partnership .......................................................................................................... 8 1.3 About this report ............................................................................................................................................ 9 2 Transitioning to a water sensitive Townsville ......................................................................................................... 10 2.1 Current context ........................................................................................................................................... 10 2.1.1 Socio-economic and urban profile ......................................................................................................... 10 2.1.2 Water security and resilience ................................................................................................................ 12 2.1.3 Institutional arrangements ..................................................................................................................... 14 2.1.4 Protecting waterways and the Great Barrier Reef ................................................................................. 15 2.2 Townsville’s water and urban future ............................................................................................................ 17 3 Queensland planning framework ............................................................................................................................. 20 3.1 Planning instruments................................................................................................................................... 21 3.1.1 State plans ............................................................................................................................................ 21 3.1.2 Regional plans ....................................................................................................................................... 22 3.1.3 Local plans ............................................................................................................................................ 23 3.2 Development assessment ........................................................................................................................... 24 3.3 Urban water planning .................................................................................................................................. 26 3.3.1 State legislation ..................................................................................................................................... 26 3.3.2 Local policy ............................................................................................................................................ 28 4 Enabling water sensitive greenfield development .................................................................................................. 30 4.1 Understanding the Townsville context ........................................................................................................ 30 4.1.1 Townsville’s identity: the role of government intervention...................................................................... 30 4.1.2 Strategic directions and leadership ....................................................................................................... 33 4.1.3 The value of water ................................................................................................................................. 35 4.1.4 WSUD in the unique dry tropics environment ........................................................................................ 36 4.2 Strengthening water outcomes in the Townsville City Plan ......................................................................... 37 4.2.1 Expanding water-related provisions ...................................................................................................... 37 4.2.2 Improving implementation: performance-based or prescriptive planning? ............................................ 39 4.2.3 Strategic greenfields planning ............................................................................................................... 40 4.2.4 Housing, context and place ................................................................................................................... 42 4.3 Integrating council functions ........................................................................................................................ 45 4.3.1 Townsville Water and Townsville City Council ...................................................................................... 45 4.3.2 Departmental silos ................................................................................................................................. 46 4.3.3 Organisational culture ........................................................................................................................... 49 5 Implementation pathways ......................................................................................................................................... 51 6 References.................................................................................................................................................................. 53 4 | Enabling water sensitive greenfield development in Townsville List of abbreviations ABS – Australian Bureau of Statistics CBD – Central business district CTH – Commonwealth CSBMP – Conceptual site-based stormwater management plan CRCWSC – Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities DA – Development assessment DNRME – Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy DSDMIP – Department of State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning DSS – Development services schemes EP Act – Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Qld) EPP (Water and Wetland Biodiversity) – Environmental Protection (Water and Wetland Biodiversity) Policy 2019 EV – Environmental value GBR – Great Barrier Reef GBRMPA – Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority IRP3 – Integrated Research Project 3 IWM – Integrated water management IWSS – Integrated water supply strategy LGIP – Local government infrastructure plan LPS – Local planning scheme MEDQ – Minister for Economic Development Queensland MOUA – Museum of Underwater Art NQRP – North Queensland Regional Plan PDA – Priority Development Area Planning Act – Planning Act 2016 (Qld) PSP – Planning scheme policy Ports Act – Sustainable Ports Development Act 2015 (Qld) QGSO – Queensland Government Statistician’s Office QLD – Queensland QDC – Queensland Development Code SBMP – Site-based stormwater management plan SDAP – State Development Assessment Provisions SPP – State Planning Policy TCC – Townsville City Council TLPI – Temporary local planning instrument UNESCO – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation VTS – Vision and Transition Strategy for a Water Sensitive Townsville Water Act – Water Act 2000 (Qld) WQO – Water quality objective WSC – Water sensitive cities WSUD – Water sensitive urban design WSSR Act