Ministerial Statement: Government welcomes housing deal

[ozbob]

Minister for Infrastructure and Planning
The Honourable Stirling Hinchliffe
10/09/2010

Government welcomes housing deal

The Minister for Infrastructure and Planning Stirling Hinchliffe today welcomed the announcement of a new international business alliance which will bring world-class development to one of the State Government's three planned model communities.

An Implementation Agreement has been signed between Australian developer Lend Lease and leading Japanese housing provider Sekisui House on a number of projects around Australia, including the Ripley Valley.

The site, just south of Ipswich, is one of the three model communities announced by the Premier following her Growth Summit in March to tackle the housing availability and affordability issues presented by Queensland's population boom.

Mr Hinchliffe said the partnership was a pioneering venture which would bring innovative international design and technology to Queensland.

"Sekisui House owns a substantial amount of land in Ripley Valley, so the deal signed today between Lend Lease and Sekisui House will ensure they are part of our sustainable solution," he said.

"I understand that within Ripley Valley, Sekisui plans to develop 2,500 residential lots which will provide much needed housing for South East Queensland, as well as direct and indirect employment for more than 4,000 people."

Sekisui House has built over two million homes since 1974 and currently employs more than 15,000 people.

Urban Land Development Authority (ULDA) CEO Paul Eagles said the Sekisui House's emphasis on sustainable development fitted neatly with his organisation's responsibility to deliver affordable housing using best-practice urban design.

"Preliminary planning for all three new communities is well underway and the government is on track to declare the UDAs shortly," he said.

"We have been working closely with the relevant councils, state agencies and landowners ahead of these declarations.

"Our intention is to facilitate development on the ground in all three model communities within 12 months of declaration. This will deliver a steady supply of housing and construction industry jobs in the south and south-western growth corridor over the next 20-30 years."

The proposed model communities at Ripley Valley, Greater Flagstone and Yarrabilba, announced following the government's recent Growth Summit, have been planned to house around 250,000 people - which would move a significant proportion of the population to the south western corridor and away from sensitive coastal areas.

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[#Metro]

More low density houses to be built in whoop-whoop la la land with no transport connection until 2031.
Plenty of land along the Rosewood line, and the train stations are already there.

[Stillwater]

A Japanese company developing housing in the Ripley Valley .... will the dwellings be built of bamboo and paper?  The cyclone rating will be     I wonder what an 'affordable price' buys.

[#Metro]

I would like to know how you get to the place! There is nothing out that way.

[mufreight]

Follow the black asphalt road called the Centenary Highway through Springfield and if you get to the Cunningham Highway at Yamanto you have once again gone tooo far

[Golliwog]

Do you know what annoys me? Everyone going on about nothing in the Conecting SEQ document being done UNTIL 2031. Its a list of things they want done BY 2031, so it seems likely that as part of the Ripley Valley development they would try and find funding for the rail line there.

[ozbob]

From the Queensland Times click here!

New deal for Ripley Valley


http://media.apnonline.com.au/img/media/images/2010/09/10/IQT_11-09-2010_NEWS_02_land15a_fct450x277x29_t325.jpg
FUTURE CITY: An artist's impression of the Ripley Valley development.

New deal for Ripley Valley

11th September 2010

AUSTRALIAN property giant Lend Lease will join forces with Japanese building company Sekisui House to develop commercial and residential land in Ripley Valley.

FUTURE CITY: An artist's impression of the Ripley Valley development.

AUSTRALIAN property giant Lend Lease will join forces with major Japanese building company Sekisui House to develop commercial and residential land in the Ripley Valley.

Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale said the proposal would bring another world-class developer into Ripley Valley, just south of the Ipswich CBD.

"This announcement will help to unlock the full potential of the future Ripley Valley town centre and help to initiate new housing for this new master-planned community," Cr Pisasale said.

"The population of Ipswich is now 170,000. This is predicted to grow to 435,000 in 21 years.

"When fully developed Ripley Valley will have 120,000 people living in 40 walkable, mixed density and transit-ready neighbourhoods. With this large increase in population, sustainable development is vitally important."

He said Ipswich had a strong record of "not just subdividing land, but creating communities with a heart and soul."

In May, Premier Anna Bligh announced Ripley Valley would be one of three new south-east Queensland communities master-planned by the Urban Land Development Authority.

That came just days after the QT reported State Government predictions of 500,000 people and a 224 per cent growth in households in Ipswich by 2031.

In June, residential developer AV Jennings sold its contract building division to Sekisui, allowing it to market developments including Ripley Valley under the AV Jennings brand.

In the last Ipswich City Council budget, $150,000 was allocated to look at options for a bus transport system linking the CBD with the Ripley Valley. Cr Pisasale said the study was being conducted by the State Government, the Council and Sekisui House.

[ozbob]

As can be noted in this map, BRT from Ripley into Ipswich is good for folks wanting to go to Ipswich, but I have a funny feeling most would prefer to go Springfield and the rail head there.  Bus will be needed for Ripley to Springfield as well.

[ozbob]

There is a chance to get things a lot better than some of the recent so called transit friendly developments.

At least there is a the notion of a rail line from Springfield to Ipswich.  Some early planning for bus rapid transit, even if Ipswich centric is a good thing.

Hopefully the streets in this new development will be big enough for buses and emergency vehicles.

Some significant upgrades will be needed on the rail line from Darra to Ipswich and beyond I would suggest as well.  Darra to Redbank triplication is a start. 

[O_128]

There is a chance to get things a lot better than some of the recent so called transit friendly developments.

At least there is a the notion of a rail line from Springfield to Ipswich.  Some early planning for bus rapid transit, even if Ipswich centric is a good thing.

Hopefully the streets in this new development will be big enough for buses and emergency vehicles.

Some significant upgrades will be needed on the rail line from Darra to Ipswich and beyond I would suggest as well.  Darra to Redbank triplication is a start. 

\

For a start make sekisui house and lend lease pay for some of the construction costs for rail, why is it the governments job to put transport in these far flung areas?

[Stillwater]

Yes, the government has a plan to improve transport infrastructure by 2031.  That is what the current plan says.  The next plan could push the deadline out further, and may do so to accommodate the cost of things such as CRR (in 2016).

While Connecting SEQ lists things to be done by 2031, the advice to government says this: Freight demand on the section of the North Coast Line between Northgate and Nambour could grow up to 348 services weekly by 2026.  That's 50 services daily, up from an average of 19 now.  Between Landsborough and Nambour, the single track alignment will support an hourly passenger train service pattern and freight growth up to 2024, providing freight transport is excluded from the corridor between 6am and 10am and is restricted to southbound only between 4pm and 7pm.

Under this scenario, the existing single track line between Landsborough and Nambour will reach capacity by 2024.

The main capacity constraints of the current alignment are the turnback times at Nambour station and the delays associated with passing requirements at stations (I.e. trains waiting in passing loops for express or services travelling in the opposite direction) to pass.

An hourly passenger train service pattern for the next 13 years to a city that will be 500,000 people by 2031.  Compare that with the frequency of passenger rail services to the Gold Coast.

The growth of freight traffic will force the state government to increase line capacity way before 2026.

[Barbar]

Once again a concise comment from Stillwater .. just thought I'd throw in the news of the construction start up to a new 86 residential lot housing estate in Landsborough... just as well we have a plan to improve PT by 2031 . no worries!!!