Brisbane's limited industrial land is under pressure from multiple sectors, and needs to be protected to sustain industry jobs, a Brisbane City Council report says.
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Industry accounts for 15 per cent of the city's jobs but industrial-zoned land supporting major businesses is often re-zoned for residential use, particularly along the Brisbane River.
As the city's formerly industrial centre becomes increasingly residential, Brisbane's major industry areas - both inner-city and further afield - need to change, the council's Brisbane Industrial Strategy 2019 says.
"Although these precincts are generally well supported by infrastructure, there are opportunities available to promote and consolidate them," the report notes.
"For example, this could include facilitating the efficient use of infrastructure, increasing services and amenity in industrial areas to help attract a talented workforce and realising the benefits of co-location."
The report lays out six priorities and nine key actions to support and sustain Brisbane's industry.
The report recommended land zoned for industry be protected but also calls for better management of industrial uses on such land to protect more "sensitive" neighbours.
It recommended "flexibility" for regulation to ensure future innovation be supported and the improvement of public transport and infrastructure to major industrial zones.
City planning needed to be used to develop industrial precincts around the city, the report finds.
City planning committee chairman councillor Matthew Bourke said 77 public submissions had been received during consultation on the plan.
“The industrial sector currently provides 15 per cent of all jobs in Brisbane and contributes significantly to local production and exports, with demand for industrial land potentially outstripping supply by 2041,” Cr Bourke said.
“The nine key actions focus on addressing key priorities for industry through an approach involving changes to Brisbane City Plan 2014, and non-statutory initiatives with a future‑focused, strategic approach to encouraging industrial development over time.”
Property Council Queensland executive director Chris Mountford said Brisbane's industrial property market had been a "shining light" in recent years.
“This new strategy seeks to maintain this growth by removing a number of the obstacles
to further investment that are currently being experienced by the sector," he said.
Mr Mountford welcomed the report's emphasis on flexible regulation for the sector.
“Today you are more likely to find millions of dollars’ worth of robotics and workers in lab
coats rather than smoke stacks and overalls," he said.
“That is why it is so important that our planning system moves with the times and ensures there is flexibility to attract the industrial uses of the future, rather than locking up land in a dogmatic way.”
