David Gardiner

Journalist

Douglas Shire Council wants to release a major area of land for new houses south of Port Douglas but says it needs the State Government to upgrade a key intersection before it can go ahead.

Making available more land for housing is one of Council’s key strategies to ease one of the worst rental accommodation shortages in the region in decades.

Rental home vacancies remain at low levels in the Shire and tourism and hospitality have not been able to run at full capacity because of the lack of accommodation for workers.

Douglas Mayor Michael Kerr said there are “no quick fixes to the tight rental market in Douglas” but that Council is working to foster conditions to increase housing supply.

“Council has already approved large subdivisions in Mossman and Craiglie, as well as other residential subdivisions in Newell Beach, Wonga Beach and Cooya Beach,” Cr Kerr said.

Council backs major residential land release

At least one large area of land has been set aside for a major residential subdivision – at Craiglie, to the south of Port Douglas where, Cr Kerr said Council had “identified an opportunity to unlock a further 380 lots by upgrading the intersection at Andreassen Road and the Captain Cook Highway, between Craiglie and the Mowbray River.”

But before the development can go ahead, the intersection and roads leading off it would have to undergo a substantial upgrade to cope with the growth of new residents and traffic, an upgrade the mayor said is a matter between the developer and the State Government.

“Council, the property owners and Department of Transport and Main Roads are aware of the requirement to upgrade the Andreassen Road intersection with the Captain Cook Highway to accommodate future traffic movements.”

State govt measures to ease rental crisis

The State Government recently announced measures towards easing rental shortages and the Mayor said Douglas Shire is working closely with the state on them.

One major change is an amendment to planning regulations – specifically the removal of restrictions enabling homeowners to rent out secondary dwellings, such as granny flats, to anyone.
Other state measures include:

• Announcement that the Housing Investment Fund Announcement would double in size to help the start the building of more than 13,000 new homes

• Commissioning of industry experts to investigate impacts the short-term rental market (such as B&Bs) is having on the state’s housing supply

• Fast tracking of planning approvals for community housing providers

Douglas tourism and hospitality staff housing

Staff accommodation in hospitality and tourism is also gaining Council support. Recently it approved a development application for a new two storey building featuring more individual rooms and privacy to guests at the Coral Beach Lodge in Port Douglas, which mainly houses seasonal workers.

“Council is also actively supporting Tourism Port Douglas Daintree’s (TPDD) ‘Adopt a Worker’ program which encourages local residents to provide accommodation for seasonal workers,” the Mayor said.

Housing shortage views: social media

Our readers have contributed to the discussion on rental shortages and housing generally.

On a Newsport article about the building of new villas, one social media post said: “holiday home or executive homes!!! that's not very helpful to the locals with the housing crisis at the moment, locals sleeping in cars, couches, tents..”

And: “Where is the infrastructure to support these new properties. I get super upset. We do not have enough doctors, schools, workers. There are not enough agencies able to supply services through my aged care. Yet we continue to add new people.”

“Just wondering when town planners are going to consider medium density housing to cater for the local population desperately in need?”

Land releases not guaranteed to ease rental lows

The Mayor said Council will have a clearer picture of the details of the area’s housing needs in coming weeks.

“A residential needs analysis that will pinpoint the current situation in Douglas Shire is expected to be finalised before the end of the year,” he said.

“Preliminary findings suggest Douglas has appropriate land available to develop residential housing and we look forward to developers taking advantage of this.”

But even if a large number of new housing lots could be available for development in the short term, major challenges remain.

Along with hospitality and tourism, the building industry is also facing ongoing skilled worker shortages and while building approvals are up, the homes aren’t being constructed quickly enough to keep up with demand.

Also, councils themselves are not in a position – legally or otherwise – to be able to tell homeowners what to do with their properties, whether to rent them out or live in them themselves.

“At this stage, Council is not aware of how individual land owners or prospective buyers plan to use their future residential properties,” Cr Kerr said.

In effect, the Douglas region could end up with a lot of new residents moving from interstate and within Queensland for the lifestyle – but most living in the new homes themselves and with very few being rented out.