Help shape the residential growth of Cooktown
Cook Shire Council is planning for more housing in Cooktown, and we want your help to get the planning right.
Council is developing a Residential Masterplan and Infrastructure Plan to guide future housing and the roads, water, sewerage, drainage and other infrastructure needed to support it.
Cook Shire Council is developing a Residential Masterplan and Infrastructure Plan for Cooktown to help address barriers to new housing and plan for the infrastructure needed to support future residential development.
Funded through the Queensland Government’s Scheme Supply Fund, the project will provide a coordinated plan for future housing, roads, water, sewerage, drainage and other infrastructure. It will help guide Council’s future planning and provide the evidence needed to pursue funding for infrastructure that can support new housing.
What are we asking you about?
This community consultation has two parts:
Part 1: The identified priority area
An area of Cooktown has already been identified for detailed residential and infrastructure planning. We’re asking the community about what sort of residential mix and ammenities you would like to see this within this area, including housing, lot sizes, infrastructure, access, open space and other priorities.
Part 2: Cooktown’s future residential growth
We also want to hear your views about Cooktown’s longer-term growth. The Cook Shire Planning Scheme already identifies several areas for potential future urban expansion. We’re asking which areas should be prioritised for future planning, why, and whether there are other areas Council should consider.
PART 1: Planning for housing and infrastructure in the Identified Priority Area
Council has identified an area of Cooktown (indicated by the green region in the map adjacent) as the priority for detailed residential and infrastructure planning.
The area has been selected because it is close to the existing town, services and facilities, and provides an opportunity to plan infrastructure across multiple properties rather than one block at a time.
With the location already been identified we’re now asking for your input on housing mix, infrastructure and other planning priorities within the area.
We want to know what you think about:
- housing types and lot sizes
- roads and access
- parks, open space and community facilities
- walking and cycling connections
- water, sewerage and drainage
- how development should be staged
- Cooktown’s character and lifestyle.
PART 2: Planning for housing and infrastructure in the identified priority area
We are also looking further ahead.
The Cook Shire Planning Scheme already identifies several areas around Cooktown for potential future urban expansion, including the following:
We want to understand which of these areas the community thinks should be prioritised for future residential growth, why, and whether there are other areas Council should consider in the future.
This broader conversation will help inform Council’s future residential planning.
Come and talk to us
Prefer to have a conversation?
Council’s Planning team and consultant planners will be out and about in Cooktown during the consultation period.
Why are we doing this?
Cooktown needs more housing, but simply having land available doesn’t mean it can easily be developed.
In parts of Cooktown, roads, water, sewerage and drainage infrastructure need to be extended or upgraded before more housing can be delivered. The cost can be too great for individual landowners to solve property by property.
The Residential Masterplan takes a coordinated approach, looking at where housing can realistically occur, what infrastructure is needed and how future development could be staged.
The project delivers an action from Council’s Local Housing Action Plan and is fully funded by the Queensland Government’s Scheme Supply Fund.
What happens next?
Your feedback will be considered alongside technical investigations into infrastructure, flooding, environmental constraints and other planning matters.
It will help inform the draft Residential Masterplan and Infrastructure Plan and Council’s longer-term planning for residential growth.
We’ll report back on what we heard and the draft Masterplan will be presented to Council for consideration.
This Masterplan does not rezone land or approve development. Any future changes to the Cook Shire Planning Scheme would be a separate process requiring Council consideration and its own statutory community consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Residential Masterplan?
It’s a long-term plan for how residential growth could occur, including where housing could go and the infrastructure needed to support it.
It guides future Council planning and investment decisions. It isn’t a development approval or a rezoning.
Has the Masterplan area already been decided?
Somewhat. The priority area in question in Part 1 of this consultation is the area that is being investigated in detail as part of the project funded by the Queensland Government’s Scheme Supply Fund.
This area was selected because of its proximity to the existing town and services, existing residential zoning across much of the area, predominantly freehold tenure and the opportunity to extend infrastructure in a coordinated way.
That’s why Part 1 of the consultation isn’t asking whether the boundary is right. We’re asking what future residential development within that area should look like.
Then why are you asking about other areas?
Because this is also an opportunity to look beyond the immediate project.
The Planning Scheme already identifies areas around Cooktown for potential future urban expansion. We’re asking the community which areas should be prioritised for future investigation and whether there are other locations Council should consider.
That feedback will inform future planning. It does not expand the scope or boundary of the current Masterplan project. Detailed infrastructure planning under the current project is funded for the existing focus area.
Will this change the zoning of my land?
No.
The Masterplan does not change zoning. Any future Planning Scheme amendment would be a separate process requiring its own Council decision and community consultation.
Does this mean I have to develop or sell my land?
No. Nothing in the Masterplan requires a landowner to develop, subdivide or sell, and there is no compulsory acquisition associated with the project.
What about flooding and drainage?
Flooding, drainage and other physical and environmental constraints are being investigated as part of the project and will help determine what land can realistically accommodate.
Local knowledge matters too. If you know where water sits after heavy rain, where drainage causes problems or something else we should know about, tell us in the survey or come and talk to the project team.
When will new housing actually be built?
When will new housing actually be built?
The Masterplan itself doesn’t build or approve housing. It provides a coordinated plan for future residential growth and the infrastructure needed to support it.
Decisions about if and when land is developed will ultimately be made by individual landowners and developers. Any proposed development would still need to go through the relevant Council development approval processes.
The timing of new housing will therefore depend on factors including landowner and developer decisions, demand, development approvals and the availability and funding of supporting infrastructure.
