Gracemere Industrial Area Master Plan
An adequate supply of well located and zoned Industrial land is essential to meet the current and future needs of business and industry. It will make a significant contribution to the ongoing growth, prosperity and economic development of the Rockhampton Region.
Long-term planning for future industrial land requirements is necessary to avoid compromising future industrial uses and minimise the potential for land use conflicts.
The Gracemere Industrial Area has been identified by both Council and the Queensland Government as a regionally significant industrial area required to meet the industrial land demands of the Rockhampton Region. Construction of the new Gracemere Overpass during 2012 is also expected to be a catalyst for further development of the Gracemere Industrial Area.
Master Planning
The Queensland Government and Rockhampton Regional Council recently commissioned a Gracemere Industrial Area Site Suitability Study. The study combined existing information and additional knowledge gained, to establish a Master Plan for development of the industrial area.
The study incorporated considerations of environmental and physical constraints, including the results of preliminary flood modelling of local drainage catchments. Subsequent planning workshops were held in December 2011 with representatives from state agencies, industry representatives and Council officers. The result of the workshops is a preferred Master Plan for the Gracemere Industrial Area, which aligns with the vision of the Rockhampton Region.
Much of the land included in the Master Plan is within current industrial precincts of the Fitzroy Shire Planning Scheme 2005. Proposed changes to the existing framework include:
- Expansion of the industrial area to include parts of Precinct K between Precincts B and C of the current Fitzroy Shire Planning Scheme;
- Designation of areas for low, medium and high impact, and noxious and hazardous industry in accordance with the requirements of Queensland planning legislation; and,
- Designation and staging of areas for medium and high impact industries closer to existing infrastructure networks to minimise delivery costs and facilitate development in the short to medium term.
How the Master Plan Will Be Used
The preferred Master Plan option was adopted by Council as the basis for informing the new Rockhampton Regional Planning Scheme, which will be completed in 2013. It has also been used to guide the development of a proposed Temporary Local Planning Instrument over the eastern end of the Gracemere Industrial Area (see Temporary Local Planning Instrument fact sheet for further information).
Furthermore, the Master Plan will be used to promote the Gracemere Industrial Area and attract development and business investment to the Rockhampton Region.
Gracemere Industrial Area
In addition to the Gracemere Industrial Area Site Suitability Study, Council undertook an economic impact assessment of development of an indicative 50 hectares of industrial land at Gracemere over the next ten years. Industrial development of this scale could potentially result in over $500 million in direct business investment, support over 2,500 jobs including 1,416 directly, and contribute some $300 million annually to gross regional product (GRP).
With the Central Queensland resources sector expected to experience unprecedented growth over the next five to ten years, the Gracemere Industrial Area will provide a competitive location for new and expanding mining, logistics and industrial service businesses that will be required to support this growth.
Council is responding to residual planning and infrastructure limitations in the area through the proposed Temporary Local Planning Instrument and via further infrastructure planning and design. Construction of the new Gracemere Overpass will be completed by the end of 2012 and existing road networks will be progressively upgraded as traffic demand grows.