Southern Thornlands

By 2046, Redlands is forecast to grow to a population of approximately 210,000 residents (up from 161,700 residents in 2021). New and diverse housing is required to accommodate this growth.

Declaring the area a PDA enables Economic Development Queensland (EDQ) to prepare a development scheme for the area that provides for both housing supply and diversity, as well as land for business and industry.

This will support the planning objectives outlined in the Southeast Queensland Regional Plan (ShapingSEQ 2023), which identified Southern Thornland as a priority future growth area.

Preliminary investigations by EDQ suggest that the PDA has the potential to support approximately 8,000 new homes and a new enterprise and employment precinct. With the addition of these 8,000 dwellings, there will be a need for expanded infrastructure including transport, schools, community facilities, and parks and open spaces. In preparing the proposed Development Scheme, EDQ will work with Council and engage with stakeholders in planning for the PDA to balance social outcomes with economic feasibility and ensure responsible growth that preserves and enhances the unique lifestyle that the Redlands community is known for.

The Southern Thornlands PDA Development Scheme will play an important role in addressing housing supply. Investigations ShapingSEQ 2023 and other strategic planning processes have highlighted the need for more diverse and affordable housing in the Redland LGA.

By fast-tracking housing supply, the Southern Thornlands PDA will support a mix of housing types, including attached dwellings such as terraces and duplexes. This will help meet the needs of local households while contributing to the housing affordability goals outlined in ShapingSEQ 2023.

The PDA will create more local jobs, support a wider range of businesses and develop vibrant activity centers. It will establish a major new employment hub with a mix of business and industrial opportunities with convenient access to key transport routes.

The Southern Thornlands PDA will protect environmental values while supporting appropriate development that facilitates housing supply. The PDA will also contribute to the preservation and rehabilitation of important environmental corridors that facilitate fauna movement and connect regionally significant habitat areas.

As part of preparing the Southern Thornlands PDA Development Scheme EDQ will also prepare a Development Charges Offset (DCOP) Plan.

EDQ will work with state agencies and utility providers to ensure infrastructure is planned, funded and delivered in a way that supports growth while balancing community needs and economic feasibility.

This infrastructure will include transport (roads, public transport, and active transport), water, sewer, open space, community facilities and stormwater management.

Under the Economic Development Act 2012, the PDA planning process involves:

• declaring the Southern Thornlands PDA
• preparing the Interim Land Use Plan (ILUP) and
• preparing a PDA Development Scheme which is a vision, a land use plan, an infrastructure plan and an implementation strategy, which includes public consultation.

The ILUP is now in effect and EDQ has started preparing the PDA Development Scheme. The DCOP, which set out the preferred approach to pay for the required infrastructure, will also be developed. The Development Scheme and DCOP will be publicly notified in early to mid 2026.

If you own property or operate a business in Southern Thornlands, the PDA changes the legislation and the associated rules governing how your land can be used and developed.

With the PDA declaration, the planning framework regulating development has shifted from the Redland City Council’s Planning Scheme to the PDA planning and assessment framework under the Economic Development Act 2012. This means new development in the Southern Thornlands PDA is now assessed under this new framework, articulated within the Interim Land Use Plan and subsequently the Development Scheme, rather than the Redland City Plan 2018.

An ILUP is a temporary planning framework which regulates development in a PDA until the detailed planning for the area has been completed. It ceases to apply when the Southern Thornlands PDA Development Scheme come into effect. It is anticipated that the Southern Thornlands PDA ILUP will be in effect for 18 months.

The Southern Thornlands ILUP establishes “Precinct 1: Eastern Precinct” which is an early release area (ERA) that will provide for development applications to be lodged, assessed and approved during the period the ILUP is in effect.  For the balance of the PDA, there is no intent for urban development to be undertaken during the period of the ILUP. Development that may occur includes only development associated with existing lawful uses, development of a temporary or interim nature and reconfigurations that do not result in further land fragmentation.

A Development Scheme is the regulatory document that replaces the ILUP and controls the long-term land use, infrastructure planning and development in a PDA. The Development Scheme comprises a vision, a land use plan, an infrastructure plan and an implementation strategy. It provides certainty to developers, local government, state agencies and the wider community about the type and form of development that can occur in the PDA. It sets the development framework for the assessment of development applications.

The statutory process for preparing a Development Scheme is set by the Economic Development Act 2012. The Development Scheme is required to advance Queensland State and regional priorities, including those expressed in the State Planning Policy and Shaping SEQ 2023. EDQ will work in partnership with council in its preparation and engage with state agencies, utilities, industry and the community during the process. Prior to being finalised by the Minister for Economic Development Queensland (MEDQ), the proposed PDA Development Scheme must undergo a minimum 30 business day public notification process.

Ensuring appropriate and timely infrastructure delivery are key to facilitating development within PDAs. The DCOP reflects the Development Scheme’s infrastructure plan and translates this into sequencing and costing; and the associated framework of charges, offsets, credits and refunds. The plan is intended to sustainably administer trunk infrastructure delivery in the PDA including:

• water supply
• sewerage
• transport
• parks and open space
• community facilities
• implementation works (community building initiatives implemented by developers).

Infrastructure network plans and cost estimates for the PDA will be outlined in the PDA Development Scheme and the Development Charges Offset Plan (DCOP).

The DCOP will guide the delivery of major or shared (trunk) infrastructure upgrades needed to support the growth planned for the PDA. It will detail the required upgrades, their timing, and estimated costs, ensuring an integrated approach to infrastructure delivery to support social and economic outcomes.

Additionally, the DCOP will set out the infrastructure charges levied on new developments to fund trunk infrastructure. It will also include the approaches to calculating charges, applying credits, and determining offsets.

Once a proposed PDA Development Scheme has been prepared, it will be publicly notified and the community, industry and other stakeholders will be invited to provide feedback. Community consultation is a statutory requirement under the Economic Development Act 2012. The DCOP will also be published with the proposed Development Scheme for feedback.

A dedicated Southern Thornlands PDA Have Your Say page has been created where you can register for updates, track project progress and learn about upcoming engagement opportunities.

As part of the PDA planning process, the community will have the opportunity to help shape the vision for the PDA, ensuring it contributes to Redlands’ unique lifestyle. There will also be a formal consultation period for feedback on the proposed Development Scheme.

To stay informed, register on the Have Your Say page here.

The public consultation period will run for at least 30 business days giving the community, industry and other stakeholders the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed PDA Development Scheme. It will also be accompanied by the draft Development Charges and Offset Plan (DCOP).

All submissions received during the consultation period will be considered by the Minister for Economic Development Queensland before finalising the PDA Development Scheme.

Public notification is expected to take place in 2026.

As part of planning for the PDA, EDQ will assess infrastructure needs including transport, parks, schools, community facilities, and stormwater management. This may require some land to be set aside for essential infrastructure to support the area’s growth.

Infrastructure requirements will be considered in the preparation of the proposed Development Scheme, which will be subject to public consultation in 2026. Public feedback is an important part of the planning process.

Infrastructure necessary to service development within the PDA will be conditioned as part of PDA development approvals and delivered as development occurs.

Sometimes, the most appropriate alignment for infrastructure required for the delivery of the PDA vision, is across private land. Where no agreement can be reached with a landowner on the sale of their land, the infrastructure provider can acquire the necessary land to deliver the infrastructure. MEDQ can also facilitate this if required.

This power would only be used after taking all reasonable steps to purchase the necessary land via agreement, and where the infrastructure provided because of the land take is required to   unlock significant development potential within a PDA and facilitate delivery of the PDA vision.  Where land is acquired, the processes under the Acquisition of Land Act 1967 for acquiring the land and paying compensation to the landowner would be followed.

For more information, please visit EDQ’s development applications and assessment webpage found here. Applicants are encouraged to use EDQ’s pre-lodgement service prior to submitting an application.

Development applications properly made before the Southern Thornlands PDA declaration continue to be assessed and decided by the Redlands City Council under the Planning Act 2016 (Planning Act).

Existing development approvals are not impacted by the declaration of a PDA.

A cancellation or a minor change application can be lodged for a Planning Act development approval, despite the Southern Thornlands PDA declaration. These types of applications can be lodged and assessed under the Planning Act.

However, following PDA declaration, development proposals (other than a cancellation or minor change to a Planning Act development approval) must be lodged and assessed as a PDA development application under the ED Act.