Brisbane’s Long-term Infrastructure Plan – What does it mean for you?

What is a Long-term infrastructure plan (LTIP)?

The Long Term Infrastructure Plan (LTIP) is a plan designed to identify infrastructure that will be required after the horizon of the Local Government Infrastructure Plan (after June 2026). The LTIP identifies an indicative location of future infrastructure that is:

• Stormwater
• Road
• Pathways
• Community Purposes Network overlay (community facilities, parks).

The LTIP was intended to help Council provide certainty about infrastructure requirements into the future. The LTIP is not a new concept, however it sits outside the City Plan 2014 meaning the impact is not readily understood.  Last year, Council incorporated the Community Purposes Network Overlay to depict LTIP community facilities and parks, however this does not extend to stormwater, road or pathway infrastructure.

How is the LTIP different from the LGIP?

The Local Government Infrastructure Plan, or LGIP as sometimes known, is Brisbane City Council’s schedule of future capital works, expected to be delivered between 2016 – 2026. Infrastructure that is needed after this time has been placed into the LTIP. Below is a summary of the key features of each plan.

	Local Government Infrastructure Plan (LGIP)	Long Term Infrastructure Plan (LTIP)
Duration	10 years – current plan is 2016-2026	Beyond the LGIP – after June 2026
Cost	Items listed are offsettable against infrastructure charges	Items listed are NOT offsettable against infrastructure charges
Type of Infrastructure	Trunk infrastructure	Trunk infrastructure to be provided in the future
Items required	Infrastructure and land	Land only
Can Council condition the provision of these items?	Yes – through a necessary trunk infrastructure condition.	Yes – through a general condition to not prejudice the subject land from future use as trunk infrastructure.
Level of oversight	The LGIP is adopted through a statutory process which involves a review by an endorsed third party reviewer, public exhibition and two state interest checks.	The LTIP is not subject to any level of state or third party oversight.

Implications of the LTIP

There is currently a lack of clarity about how Council intends to implement the LTIP and Community Purposes Network Overlay. This is leading to fear that development approvals on land affected by either the LTIP or Community Purposes Network Overlay will include conditions which severely limit a land owner’s ability to develop land over which the plan or overlay applies, including the provision of no permanent structures / improvements. This is an issue for multiple reasons, including its potential to:

• Introduce significant uncertainty for due diligence advice and property acquisitions;
• Reduce developable land content without direct correlation to land value;
• Sterilise land from development without providing any compensation for doing so.

For example, where land is included in the LTIP or Community Purposes Network Overlay, Council will not allow it to develop in any way that may prejudice (or make more expensive) its potential future use as trunk infrastructure. Council does not impose this requirement through a necessary trunk infrastructure condition and as such avoids having to provide an offset against infrastructure charges.

The intent of the LTIP and Community Purposes Network Overlay is to more easily facilitate Council potentially acquiring the land in future. It is noted however that:

• There is no obligation on Council to provide the infrastructure identified in the LTIP and Community Purposes Network Overlay – effectively enabling Council to sterilise the land for an acquisition that may never occur;
• Council’s decision to sterilise the land through the development assessment process will, in most cases, render it worthless – effectively resulting in Council only paying a nominal value for the land if it proceeds with an acquisition in the future.

It is important to understand all the possible implications of the LTIP that may affect your site or one you intend to acquire. To find out more about how the LTIP may affect you, get in touch with Damon Ehlers from PIE Solutions or one of the experienced town planners at Wolter Consulting Group, both of whom work closely together and provide a tailored advice to ensure the best possible outcome for our clients.

Co-authored by Damon Ehlers from PIE Solutions and Wolter Consulting Team.