Development report tells positive growth story for Townsville
Date published: 26 July 2023
More than $413M worth of building applications were approved across Townsville for the 2022/23 financial year.
The latest Development Activity Report was tabled at today’s Ordinary Council Meeting and gave an overview of the quarter from April to June and overall for the last financial year.
Planning and Development Committee chairperson Mark Molachino said it highlighted the continued strength of Townsville’s economy.
“Last financial year 217 commercial building applications and 419 new dwelling house applications were approved,” Cr Molachino said.
“From 2020 to 2022 our city has experienced a net growth of more than 5,000 new jobs.
“The latest estimates from 2022 have our city’s population at 198,577 residents, which is an increase of more than 3,000 people from the previous year.
“This increase is reflected in the amount of land releases and residential building applications which were approved.
“Close to 600 residential lots for release were approved during the last financial year, and more than 2,000 residential lots for release were approved over the last three financial years.
“Industry is working hard to deliver new housing stock as quickly as possible and our data tells us that 383 new homes were finished last financial year, and 1,541 over the last three financial years.
Mayor Jenny Hill said the region’s diverse economy and investment into future industries was helping to grow Townsville.
“Townsville has been identified as a hydrogen hub and there continues to be significant interest and investment from both a government and industry level in the region’s future,” Cr Hill said.
“Projects like the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct, NQ Spark, North Rail Yards Project and the Haughton Pipeline Project are helping to support our city’s growing population and creating future jobs for the region.
“There’s also been significant investment from industry and government for projects like the Port Expansion, Australia-Singapore Military Training Initiative, CopperString 2032 and the Townsville Vanadium Battery Manufacturing Facility.
“Townsville is one of the fastest growing areas in Northern Australia and it’s great to see the level of confidence both industry and government have in our region.”
The latest Development Activity Report is available in July’s Ordinary Council Meeting’s minutes.
