There’s been intense community debate in recent weeks after Noosa councillors narrowly approved a much-needed social housing development in Cooroy, and much of it revolves around this question; could the cost outweigh the community benefit?

Noosa Matters was particularly interested in the views of Nicola Wilson – one of our new Councillors, with a strong financial background.   Her concern is this: remediation of the steep site located on the top of a former rubbish dump, followed by sub-division to three lots and building a long access road, will see council being left with a huge bill but potentially little to show for it.

In late January, councillors voted 4-3 in favour of a staff recommendation to remediate the whole site, sub-divide into three lots, and sell Lot 1 to Coast 2 Bay, to facilitate development of 25 social housing units.

The site at 62 Lake Macdonald Drive is adjacent to Cooroy Cemetery. Road access will be via Dianella Court.

Cr Wilson, along with Crs Amelia Lorentson and Jess Phillips, voted against the proposal. Cr Wilson, whose extensive corporate finance experience was an asset in her election to council, said she was initially enthusiastic about the proposal – until she began to understand the full extent of the site’s contamination following testing late 2024, and the neighbouring residents’ concern.

“I lived in Dianella Court for a year, until April 2024,” Cr Wilson said.

“The first I knew of this proposal was leading up to the May 2024 General Committee.

“I was sold on its positives at first, as I really want to see social housing for those who need it.”

“My view changed due to my concern for those neighbouring residents, potential over-densification of the site, and the potential financial burden to council.

“It wasn’t a NIMBY situation; residents were not against public housing – they were trying to find a compromise, but they had concerns over the removal of the asbestos, leakage into water tanks, their children’s health.”

Early talk of perhaps 100-plus units across the three lots were also a conundrum, and Cr Wilson was concerned about the site’s lack of proximity to services.

“For the most vulnerable people to be that far away from town – either up the steep slope of Kauri St, or a long flatter walk with no pavement along Lake Macdonald Drive, which can be dangerous, was a concern,” Cr Wilson said.

“Then there was the financial aspect. Originally the proposal was that all three lots would be developed for housing (Lot 1 for social housing; Lots 2 and 3 for ‘affordable’ housing), –and therefore the remediation and civil works may be eligible for housing grants.”

The motion now passed says council will seek debt funding and pursue grants. But with no commitment to a housing outcome for lots 2 and 3, it’s less likely grants will be available.

Various options were discussed at the confidential meeting, with varying levels of remediation, costs and potential development on the site.

Lot 1 contamination was ‘night soil’, requiring a less complex remediation process, but Lots 2 and 3 contained asbestos from landfill – a different ballgame.

“The landfill is the one the neighbouring residents were concerned about, which is why they were okay about Lot 1 going ahead,” Cr Wilson said.

“Option 1 was to just look at Lot 1 remediation and development, and manage the rest of the site (the landfill area) via a maintenance plan.

“But this would still require an access road to be built to service the 25 units via Dianella Court.

“The sale of that small piece of land would not have covered those costs. I didn’t think that was a path we should take.

“There might also come a time where legislation changes or monitoring of the landfill site leads us to remediate the site later, at a higher cost,” Cr Wilson said.

“I don’t believe we should be remediating land as a cost to ratepayers unless we really have to. And the neighbours at Dianella Court and other residents of Cooroy have made it clear they don’t want to see 100 units there.

“The sale of lots 2 and 3 would help to cover the remediation and civil works. We don’t know what level of density would make it viable for a developer, or how much they are willing to pay for the land until we come to sell. It’s on land zoned for community facilities, so restricted in what can be built there.  

“The motion we voted on does not commit council to housing on Lots 2 and 3. There will be community consultation on how best to use the land, but we are still committing to the remediation, sub-division and building the road before that takes place.

“So, there might be no purpose for the road, and remediation costs to prepare for that road could blow out. To what purpose?”

Cr Wilson said the financial risks of this option outweighed the benefits given the uncertainty of the future of lots 2 and 3, and the highest costs.

“It’s too late to consult with the community about how to use the land when we’ve already taken steps to remediate it; we’ve already jumped the gun and built a road.

“We’ve committed to those significant costs before knowing how the community will benefit.

“Why make a loss, for only 25 units?” she said.

Mayor Frank Wilkie released this updated statement in support of the project this week:

NEW LAND ASSET AND HOUSING

Council is set to create a community land asset by remediating a former landfill site and facilitating promised social housing at Cooroy.

A subdivision at 62 Lake Macdonald Drive in Cooroy will include 25 architect-designed social housing units on a minority, 3000 square metre portion of the site (Lot 1), which will be purchased and built upon by not-for-profit community housing provider Coast2Bay.

The majority of the site, 14,000 square metres (Lots 2 and 3), will be the subject of community consultation to decide its future use.

A 10,000 square metre lot (Lot 100) will be set aside for cemetery expansion.

Rather than leave the hazard for future councils to clean up at an increased cost, Council will remediate the whole site, which was a former landfill, subject to securing a loan or grant.

Coast2Bay will need to lodge a Development Application for approval, providing the community with an opportunity to review the proposal prior to any formal construction.

Council are a key member of council’s Housing Stakeholder Reference Group.

The community will be asked to give input on what the remaining 14,000 square metres of land should be used for, including options such as open space, cultural heritage projects, housing, and other community purposes.

Responding to feedback from neighbouring residents, the revised layout includes a vegetated buffer that was doubled in size to 10-metres wide and an extra 2500 square metres of open space.

Council estimates site remediation will begin in May and finish in August, to be followed by subdivision works.