Delivering Townsville’s Vision & Early Impressions of “City Deals” Great Small Cities for a Great Big Nation Graeme Bolton MPIA Director Planning & Development, Townsville City Council 12 October 2016
Delivering Townsville’s Vision & Early Impressions of “City Deals”
Great Small Cities for a Great Big Nation
Graeme Bolton MPIADirector Planning & Development, Townsville City Council
12 October 2016
Presentation outline – Introduction & Vision– Economic Drivers– Reshaping the Economy– Developing Townsville’s Future– Implementing the Vision
Introduction & Vision
Townsville
• Population of approx. 195,000 people
• Services regional population of 250,000 people
• Forecasted to grow to 350,000 by 2050
• Queensland’s 4th largest city behind the Sunshine Coast
• Australia’s 13th largest city behind Geelong
• Largest city in Northern Australia
Townsville
Townsville City Council Vision
Townsville, Capital of Northern Australia; the City with Opportunity and Great Lifestyle
Economic Drivers
A changing economy
(ABS Employment data, cited in Powell, W. May 2016)
• Record high unemployment 14.5%
• An economy in transition
• Moving away from dependence on mining, agriculture and manufacturing
• Opportunity for new economies in health, education, service industry
Global megatrends
Dr Stefan Hajkowicz, CSIRO
Global megatrends
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Global megatrends
Patrick Maes, ANZ
Federal and State government initiatives
So what does all of this mean for Townsville?
Reshaping the Economy
RAI Regional Pathfinder Projects
• Pilot project for Queensland established between Townsville City Council & Queensland Department of State Development
• Jointly funded by Queensland government, 5 councils in North Queensland region and two key industry groups
• Project will:
• identify 3‐6 ‘future factors’ that will drive economic development
• decide priority areas for action – not “further planning”
• Clarify roles and responsibilities
• Establish KPIs and monitoring framework
Informed by data and trend analysis
Developing Townsville’s Future
Townsville City Waterfront Priority Development Area
• Adopted by the State government on 23 October 2015
• Implementation well underway
Key statistics
• Total Area 97.2ha
• 63.7ha over land
• 33.5ha over water
• 28.3ha owned by Council
• 11.5ha owned by Port of Townsville
• 0.5ha owned by Qld government
• Balance of land covered by private ownership and State and local roads
• Biggest urban transformation / urban renewal project in Northern Australia
• 15 to 20 year development horizon
• Builds on City Plan 2014 and CBD Masterplan
• Key role in achieving 30,000 people working and living in the CBD by 2030
• Reconnects CBD to Waterfront
• Catalytic projects to unlock $1.9 billion redevelopment potential
• Achieving Townsville’s vision to be the Capital of Northern Australia
Intent
Development assessment differs significantly from “normal planning”
In the PDA:• Assessment is simplified• No State agencies getting way• No third party appeal rights• Limited applicant appeal rights
Implementing the Vision
Sounds great…. but is this just another plan to plan?
Short answer….
First PDA approved within just 3 business days!
• Concept design complete
• Detailed design commenced
• Funding secured
Stage 1A – Waterfront Promenade
• Expression of Interest has closed
• A number of very high quality submissions received
• Council currently working through assessment
• Decision later this year
Arts & Cultural Precinct EOI
• Concept Master Plan & Vision
• Market sounding
• Preservation and strengthening of heritage values
• Aligned with megatrends:
• Knowledge based, entrepreneurial and innovation hub
• Organically grown, sustainable job creation
North Yards Rail Precinct
• Land secured by Council
• Funding secured for Stadium
• Stage 1 – stadium component to be completed by 2020
• Master planning for integrated site commence December 2016
• Strong local content in project delivery
• Ongoing negotiations within City Deals for Entertainment and Convention Centre
Integrated Stadium & Entertainment Centre
• Early days
• All three levels of government have met and are committed
• Key messages from Council
• Now is the time to be bold
• Must include the community and industry
City Deals
The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but building the new.
– Socrates
Questions?
• Visit: www.townsville.qld.gov.au
• Contact: Graeme Bolton
(07) 4727 9497
More information?