FAQs
- Upgrading existing and ageing infrastructure:
- Enhancing and providing additional public amenities:
- Improving transportation networks:
- Increasing resilience:
- Planning infrastructure in for a changing community:
- Promoting sustainability:
- Ensuring equitable accessibility:
Why do we need an Infrastructure Master Plan?
We need an Infrastructure Master Plan to strategically guide and coordinate the development, maintenance, and resilience of our community's infrastructure.
This plan aims not to make sweeping changes, but to enhance and complement existing public assets while outlining a forward-looking direction aligned with community priorities. It will guide Council in strategically planning Noosaville foreshore infrastructure for the next 20+ years, ensuring it remains a vibrant, sustainable community hub and parkland.
Additionally, the plan will support Council in budgeting for future upgrades and maintenance programs along the foreshore, as well as in securing state and federal government grant funding throughout its implementation to minimise the cost to rate payers.
How will the Draft Infrastructure Master Plan improve the foreshore for the community?
The proposed Infrastructure Master Plan will improve the foreshore for the community by providing the following: Much of the infrastructure and park elements throughout the foreshore is ageing, with some elements reaching their end of service life and need to be replaced. This is best undertaken in a holistic, planned manner rather than in an ad hoc approach. The plan proposes to refresh old facilities (such as public toilets) to meet current standards and community expectations. This includes more inclusive and accessible facilities and infrastructure for people with disabilities or mobility issues. Public amenities will be added or improved, including amenities such as toilets, recreational facilities, BBQ areas, lighting, signage, furniture, exercise stations and pathways. This includes a new changing places[1] and public toilet amenities located in Precinct 4 – Quota Park. This will result in equally spaced amenities positioned along the entire foreshore. The plan proposes improved access to efficient and sustainable public transport systems, such as bus and ferry stops, active transport such as bike lanes, shared pathways, and pedestrian networks. Implementing a range of foreshore strategies to enhance resilience from the impacts of extreme weather events. Better planning of infrastructure and facilities to accommodate local population growth, increased tourism and evolving community needs and intergenerational change is required. Using green technologies like solar/LED lighting, water-sensitive stormwater treatments, solar reflective and permeable pavements[2]. In addition, the proposed climate resilience strategies will assist in providing longer term sustainability of the foreshore. The plan ensures community infrastructure is accessible to everyone, including those with disabilities. This includes all abilities or DDA (Disability Discrimination Act 1992) compliant access to the beach, river and canal in most places. [1] A changing places toilet facility provides suitable facilities for individuals with high support needs. Source: https://www.dss.gov.au/disability-and-carers-programs-services/changing-places [2] Permeable pavements allow water to filter through the surface into the ground below |
Why are we undertaking another round of Community Engagement?
In June-July 2024, we asked for your views on the Draft Noosaville Foreshore Master Plan. Your interest was evident in the volume of submissions across the Your Say Survey, letters to Council and social media commentary.
You told us that the Draft Noosaville Foreshore Master Plan didn’t meet your expectations, so we are revising the master plan.
To ensure that the community’s values are at the heart of the Master Plan, we will use your feedback to drive the revised Master Plan and we will bring a revised Master Plan back to you for another round of feedback in mid-November 2024* that balances the need for improvements with what you have told us.
*Note, timing is subject to Council endorsement of the plan revisions.
What is happening with the Tennis Courts?
Your feedback from the Draft Master Plan engagement in June-July 2024 told us that the Tennis Court is a much-loved sporting and community facility. We have listened and are working through solutions to retain the tennis court facility as part of the Master Plan and upgrade the facilities, exploring opportunities to diversify the sports offerings at the Foreshore in the future.
What is happening with the Car Parking?
Your feedback from the Draft Master Plan engagement in June-July 2024 told us that you highly value car parking in and along the foreshore. We have taken this feedback seriously and are currently working through solutions to retain almost all the car parking along the foreshore.
There will however be a few minor exceptions where we must make small adjustments to protect public safety, provide pick-up/drop-off zones and improve accessibility. These improvements will be clearly noted in the upcoming Master Plan. Any changes to car parking will occur incrementally, over a 20-year period.
Why do we need to prepare for the impacts of major weather events when the foreshore has not changed in decades?
Change has been happening on our foreshore for decades. The change occurs in small increments, and therefore is not obvious in the day-to day. Much of the foreshore will be increasingly impacted over future years as identified in Council’s endorsed Coastal Hazards Adaptation Plan (CHAP).
Our foreshore was once abundant with natural dune ecosystem – however as development and use has increased, this protection measure has been degraded and almost entirely lost.
Erosion is the clearest indicator of change along our foreshore. Erosion is occurring along most of our Noosaville Foreshore. Council have been trying to remedy this erosion with ‘Beach Nourishment’ activities for years. This is a process where sand is dredged from the river and placed back on our shoreline.
Whilst this process has been effective until now, we have reached a point-in-time where we are unable to keep up with the amount and frequency of erosion with this approach. We require a more robust and long-term solution.
The Master Plan proposes a suite of proactive measures aimed at addressing the impacts of major weather events and enhancing the resilience of the much-loved foreshore.
The strategies are tailored to minimise the impact from sea level rise, flooding, storm impacts, erosion and heat waves; and most importantly reflect the natural protection that was once there.
Key strategies such as beach nourishment (current activity), river edge reshaping, and revegetation are central to the plan and typical measures used across Australia. These nature-based solutions gradually adapt to environmental changes and mitigate sudden impacts on the foreshore.
Beach nourishment and river edge reshaping strengthen coastal defences against storms and rising sea levels. River edge revegetation protects our foreshore from erosion and wave action whilst recreating (in key locations) our lost river edge natural beauty, ecosystem and biodiversity.
Investing in these resilience strategies now ensures our community thrives amid future major weather events, preserving our coastline's natural beauty and functionality.
How will the Master Plan be implemented?
The Infrastructure Master Plan will assist Council to deliver a 20-year vision in stages, over the next two decades. The Master Plan is the first step of many in the planning and design process. For many of the projects which are of high interest to the community, Council intends to work with you and key stakeholder groups to inform the upgrades and improvements over the coming years. Furthermore, the staging of projects is essential to ensure that each upgrade has appropriate planning and funding, whilst also maintaining that foreshore can largely continue to function as upgrades and improvements are undertaken in isolated areas. |