Council is currently at Step 5 in the process as shown above. 
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This process was commenced back in 2021 under the previous SCRC, led by Mayor Jamieson. 

 Despite the draft planning scheme being a 10-year document, the Council have indicated the draft planning scheme is based on a population estimate out to 2046.   This is as per the State Government's South East Queensland Regional Plan 2023, which sets a population target for the region of 565,700 people, requiring an extra 84,800 dwellings by 2046.  
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Documents released in 2022 showed that at the heart of this plan was the placement of the majority of these new arrivals along the Coastal Corridor
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"Focusing growth in key locations maximises the efficient use of existing and planned infrastructure; concentrates new housing close to employment and services; and supports affordable living and housing diversity. The proposed regional planning directions sought to focus opportunities for redevelopment in and around our major centres as well as in urban villages (or nodes) along the coastal corridor extending from Maroochydore to Caloundra."
SCRC Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme Project, Preliminary Consultation Summary and Outcomes September 2022 p11
 
This was based on the assumption that there would be a mass transit public transport system and infrastructure to support the increased population along the Coastal Corridor.

Proposed vision
In 2041, the Sunshine Coast is a well-connected city-region.
People can move around easily and are experiencing the benefits of more diverse housing focused around high-frequency public transport corridors. All major centres on the Sunshine Coast are linked by high-frequency public transport connections, with new corridors bolstering existing networks.
In particular, the mass transit spine along the coastal corridor from Maroochydore through Kawana Waters to Caloundra, a new passenger railway connecting Beerwah and Maroochydore through to the Sunshine Coast Airport, and improvements to the North Coast Rail Line from Beerburrum to Nambour, provide critical support to a well-planned settlement pattern. 
 
Source SCRC Sunshine Coast land use planning proposal 2041 p39
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In March 2022 SCRC undertook non non-statutory public consultation on the draft planning scheme.  As part of this consultation they released a number of directives for the community to consider and comment on.  Council said:
 
  "More than 8,000 people provided valuable feedback on a proposed vision and regional planning directions for the new planning scheme and contributed their ideas to local area planning. Feedback received has helped to inform the detailed drafting of the proposed planning scheme."
Source: SCRC website, May 2025.
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Click here to view the detailed Feedback summary

Council noted at the time that it was one of the biggest responses they had received.  They also noted a key concern was "Potential increases in density or building height along key transport corridors in the coastal corridor between Maroochydore and Caloundra, particularly in the Kawana Waters and Mooloolaba – Alexandra Headland local plan areas."

This feedback was completely ignored and the Proposed Planning Scheme was not changed to address these community concerns.  Instead, the SCRC submitted to the Queensland State Government in 2023 a draft plan that the community did not want.  

Since this time, much has changed, yet the Proposed Planning Scheme that is being put to consultation now, has changed little.  In particular, the rapid transit spine along the Coastal Corridor is extremely unlikely to occur within the time frame of this draft planning scheme The State has announced alternate Transport plans for “The Wave” through the CAMCOS corridor and NOT along the Council’s rapid transit road route.  The question has to be asked why SCRC is proposing a planning scheme that will not have the infrastructure in place to support its proposed densification in the wrong suburbs.

 

What Can YOU do about it?

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The only way to get this Proposed Planning Scheme changed is to make a submission to the Council letting them know your thoughts.  The best way is via their 'Have Your Say Website".   If we don't speak up now, it will be too late.  If this goes ahead, all this development will be code assessable, meaning you will not get notified, you will get no say, and you will have no right of appeal. 

 

Go to Council's Have Your Say Website Now!

Public Consultation runs until 19 September 2025.  

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Don't Make Us the Gold Coast!