The Noosa Biosphere has backed Sunshine Coast Regional Council in its battle with the Bligh Government over the planned Palmview community development near Sippy Downs.

Responding to a call to action from the community by Mayor Bob Abbott, the Noosa Biosphere provided a submission to Council on Monday supporting the reinstatement of several key measures scrapped by the State Government from Council’s original structure plan.

Some of the changes imposed by the State Government include setting a minimum population, the halving of ecological buffer zones and removing a dedicated public transit corridor.

Noosa Biosphere also offered to co-ordinate the sharing of resources and experience from the considerable talent across the biosphere community to help planners and developers achieve a similarly sustainable community for Palmview.  This is the same talent that worked to establish the United Nations recognised reserve.

 “We appreciate that there are huge pressures on state cabinet to open up more residential land but it can’t be done by ignoring best-practice planning principles,” Mr Donovan said.

“The population numbers that they’re talking are enormous and if you don’t adopt the good principles that the council is looking at, some time down the track you’re going to have an awful mess where people don’t feel that they’re part of a cohesive and engaged society.

“We don’t want urbanised ghettos where there’s not an appreciation for the land and environment.”

Mr Donovan said the next generation coming forward had a much higher appreciation and expectation of environmental values than before.

“They want their children to be brought up in developments that meet higher standards of integrated services, user-friendly transport, climate-proofed land, environmental preservation and regard that exceeds past poor practices,” he said.

“If council’s plans are respected and good planning principles are brought in, we can actually create communities where people feel they belong, they know their neighbours and there’s good social cohesion.

“That helps to eliminate the crime, graffiti and disaffection that we now find – particularly in communities with a lack of good planning,”

Mr Donovan said Noosa was a prime example of what could be achieved with thoughtful and sustainable planning principles on the Sunshine Coast and the Noosa Biosphere would be happy to assist.

“We believe that the State government and developers of Palmview should look at the planning principles that went into Noosa to create its iconic status,” Mr Donovan said.

“There’s a lot of lessons to be learnt from what was achieved in Noosa over a period of 20-odd years by very talented and forward thinking people that could be applied to other places on the Coast.  This well-considered approach is doubly important, particularly when you look at the anticipated dangers of climate change.

“So we’re not just standing aside and saying: ‘You should take notice of us’, we’re prepared to get involved and share whatever information we’ve got as part of our undertaking to the whole of the region.”

Anyone interested in looking at the complete Noosa Biosphere submission can view the document here.