Planning overhaul as Brisbane aged care crisis looms

Posted July 14th 2009

by DPS

Development fees could be cut, red tape cut and land earmarked for housing geared towards the elderly to avoid an aged care crisis in Brisbane.

These are just some of the measures being considered by Brisbane City Council amid warnings the city is in the grip of a shortage of housing for the elderly, according to a report in the Brisbane Courier Mail.

That shortage is expected to worsen, with predictions another 41,000 people aged over 65 years will call Brisbane home by 2026. The options were among those recommended by the council’s task force into retirement and aged care which have received strong support in a new survey.

Task force members recommended introducing development incentives for three years to boost the number of retiree resorts and aged care homes, in a bid to stop a trend where such housing was being pushed to the city’s outskirts.

Council is expected to decide which recommendations to adopt in coming months, but will be under pressure to introduce incentives for developers based on the survey results.

Almost all those surveyed agreed that council should use its planning process to pinpoint locations for housing suitable for elderly residents, that development fees for retirement villages and aged-care facilities be halved, and their development be given priority status for the next three years.

There was also support for a task force to investigate universal housing designs to suit all ages, which would have features such as wide, wheelchair-friendly hallways. Support was also strong for an amendment to council’s planning scheme to ensure suburbs offered more housing options for the elderly.

Council’s Neighbourhood Planning chairwoman, Amanda Cooper, said all of the feedback would be considered before a final decision was made on the recommendations.

A council spokesman said the council would carry out a city-wide analysis of aged-care housing needs, which would shape its City Plan review. Aged care facilities could be fast-tracked at specific locations under the recommendations.