More than $28m of building approvals in September

Toowoomba Regional Council’s efforts to streamline and speed up planning approval processes is proving to be successful, with applications being dealt with quickly and efficiently well within statutory timelines.

Over $28 million of building applications were approved by council in September - an increase of almost $10 million since August.

During September, 52 new lots were approved and 99 lots were signed-off for release to the market compared to 56 being released during August.

Over the past twelve months, the average number of development applications received per month was 336 with an average number of 309 development applications approved.

The total number of approved development applications for September was 333, an increase of almost 15 per cent since April. It is significantly higher than the figures for February 2011, when the number of approvals sat at 125, the lowest point in the year.

Planning and Development Services portfolio leader Cr Peter Marks said the statistics support the general view that the building and development industry in the Toowoomba region is a lot more active than the rest of the state.

“The Toowoomba region is punching above its weight, with new developments in the pipeline including the proposed QIC retail development announced last week,” he said.

“Due to the Toowoomba region’s broad economic base, Toowoomba doesn’t have the extreme highs and lows of other areas in Queensland.  Additionally, RP Data has just identified Toowoomba as having the highest population growth rate in Australia.

“We’re a growing region, despite the current economic conditions, thanks to our position as a major regional centre servicing a huge geographic hinterland that includes the Darling n rural industries and increasingly, the influences arising from the Surat Basin energy developments. I expect greater things to come,” Cr Marks said.