Hundreds of Ipswich residents have their say on draft Ipswich Plan 2024
22 September 2023
Hundreds of Ipswich residents have shared their thoughts on Ipswich City Council’s draft new planning scheme, Ipswich Plan 2024, during recent public consultation.
The draft planning scheme will oversee how Ipswich develops over the next decades, managing a booming population and increased housing needs across the city.
Growth, Infrastructure and Waste Committee Chair Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said thousands of Ipswich residents engaged with the public consultation program via Shape Your Ipswich, community pop-ups, and information sessions.
“The draft Ipswich Plan 2024 is so important in our city’s growth and development, and I’m delighted so many residents got involved and shared their thoughts on the major planning and development issues facing Ipswich,” Mayor Harding said.
“More than 500 properly made submissions were lodged during the consultation process, and council is now assessing all the submissions to update and amend the draft scheme.
“Many residents provided thoughtful feedback on proposed zoning changes, how and where we should locate greenfield development, how to manage housing density, and how best to manage natural hazards such as floods.
“Once all of this feedback has been assessed, council expects to consider the new draft of the scheme. Initially, we had planned to do this through September and October, however given the volume and detail in the feedback, we will extend this to December.”
Growth, Infrastructure and Waste Committee Deputy Chairperson Councillor Paul Tully said the final draft of the new planning scheme would be provided to the Department of State Development, Local Government, Infrastructure and Planning for consideration by the Minister and subsequent approval by council.
“This new planning scheme is a major piece of work that is being progressed carefully and thoroughly to ensure it delivers the best outcomes for all,” Cr Tully said.
“Councillors and planners met with more than 600 residents across the city during the consultation process through information sessions, talk-to-a-planner sessions and online seminars.
“In response to this interest, council is extending the delivery dates for the draft planning scheme to ensure we have enough time to assess the hundreds of public submissions.
“If approved by council in December, the draft Ipswich Plan 2024 will be sent to the Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning for the Minister’s review.
“It’s anticipated the State’s review will be concluded in early 2024, allowing council to formally adopt the new scheme in the middle of 2024.”
Residents can keep up to date with the progress of the draft planning scheme via Shape Your Ipswich.