Townsville City Waterfront

Key details

The Townsville City Waterfront Priority Development Area (PDA) will facilitate the North Queensland Stadium, mixed-use development in the CBD, pedestrian and cycle paths along the banks of Ross Creek and a variety of public open spaces.

The site is an important part of Townsville’s inner urban area and has the potential to accommodate and create jobs for a portion of the additional 30,000 people planned to live and work in the wider CBD area by 2030.

It covers 97.2ha of land next to Townsville’s CBD.

The PDA was declared on 5 September 2014 at the request of the Townsville City Council.

Development Scheme

The Development Scheme is the regulatory document which assists with planning, carrying out, promoting, coordinating and controlling land development within the PDA.

The Townsville City Waterfront PDA Development Scheme commenced on 23 October 2015.

Note: Amendments to the Economic Development Act 2012 have changed the interpretation of PDA exempt and PDA self-assessable development. More information.

Development assessment

Development assessment for land within the Townsville City Waterfront PDA, which is strategic port land, is managed by the Minister for Economic Development Queensland (MEDQ).

Townsville City Council is responsible for assessing development applications  for the remainder of land within the PDA.

All development applications are assessed against the Development Scheme.

Infrastructure

Funding and building infrastructure is key to facilitating development within PDAs.  The ED Act authorises MEDQ to set and levy infrastructure charges within a PDA, with the Infrastructure Funding Framework (IFF) serving as the primary EDQ policy document concerning charges for Townsville City Waterfront PDA. As outlined in the IFF, the Townsville City Waterfront PDA refers to the relevant Local Government’s charging instrument to determine the calculation of these charges.

The Townsville City Waterfront PDA Development Scheme includes an infrastructure plan that identifies the infrastructure required to facilitate growth and development in the PDA.

Applicable infrastructure charges are set out in Townsville City Council’s adopted infrastructure charges resolution. The requirement to pay infrastructure charges, or to deliver the infrastructure identified, will be a condition of a PDA development approval.

The Townsville City Waterfront PDA Infrastructure Charging Offset Plan (ICOP) sets out the infrastructure items that may be offset against applicable infrastructure charges.

Development project

Townsville City Waterfront PDA

Townsville City Waterfront PDA boundary map