Mayor Mark Jamieson said developing Halls Creek, previously a pine forest but now used for grazing, would also add congestion to an already choked Bruce Highway and pose a threat to the Pumicestone Passage.

He said Stockland’s referral to the Federal Government for environmental approval did not disclose the full facts.

Stockland has not disclosed how many houses it intended to build on the site, but believed it would deliver multi-billion dollar boom to the local economy as well as much-needed housing.

However, Jamieson said it was at least a decade away and would have no bearing on the current housing crisis.

“I am writing to the Minister for Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek, imploring her to reject the referral, as there is no lawful basis upon which Stockland’s referral can be properly assessed,” Jamieson said

“As a result, the Commonwealth’s assessment of the referral will have to be based on Stockland’s ‘best guess’ scenario of the form of development it would like to see occur within Halls Creek.

“This looks like a purely speculative exercise by Stockland, one which is probably more about increasing the value of their land holding rather than genuinely addressing the current housing crisis.

“The loss of any part of the Glasshouse/Pumicestone Inter-Urban Break, which includes Halls Creek and associated transport infrastructure, would significantly reduce its overall environmental, social and economic values.

 “That’s an outcome our Sunshine Coast residents, our Council and, indeed, the rest of South East Queensland would never wish to see.

 “Further, any development in Halls Creek would fail to meet the State Government’s Urban Footprint Principles set by Shaping SEQ – the South East Queensland Regional Plan 2017.

“It appears now they want to change the rules, by trying to get environmental approvals without sufficient information upon which to assess such a referral.”

He said Stockland was attempting to grab more developable land when its nearby Aura project was barely half finished with 6500 of the 13,000 homes completed.

He said the Halls Creek land, which was zoned as agriculture and conservation, should forst be considered under the State Government’s SEQ Regional Plan.

“Studies have shown that developing Halls Creek, located within the Glasshouse/Pumicestone Inter-Urban Break, would pose a high risk of unacceptable environmental impacts on the Pumicestone Passage and Ramsar Wetlands, which are already under pressure from urban development and at significant risk of further environmental decline.

“There’s already a solution on the table. Beerwah East is more suited to future urban development because it would provide sufficient greenfield housing supply well beyond 2046, able to house more than 50,000 people.

“It is already in the Urban Footprint and is the only major development area designated in South East Queensland.”

“There is a well-documented housing affordability crisis on the Sunshine Coast and all options need to be considered to accommodate future growth. The Sunshine Coast continues to be one of Australia’s fastest growing regions and this growth is generating strong demand for new residential dwellings and businesses. It is forecast that by 2041 the population of the Sunshine Coast will grow to 500,000 people requiring an additional 70,000 homes.

Stockland said the Halls Creek, or Aura South as it calls it, was located on the northern edge of the Halls Creek Potential Growth Area which had been identified by the State Government in regional planning since 2009 as having potential to accommodate future population growth.

“Stockland recognises the importance of protecting the Pumicestone Passage. As per the EPBC application, Aura South proposes to adopt world-leading construction and water quality protection practices – as we have at Aura – to ensure the Passage will be protected. Aura South has no coastal frontage and part of the proposal is for a three-kilometre vegetation buffer which includes rehabilitating 400 hectares of land,” the company said.

“Large masterplanned communities take a long time to plan and achieve the necessary approvals – for example, Aura took more than ten years before construction commenced in 2016. This is part of reasoning around why we’ve started the planning for Aura South. Stockland recognises the strong demand for housing in south east Queensland, and has the expertise and capability to accelerate the development to help meet the needs of the community.”