Labor's Brisbane Parking Plan To Hurt Buyers: PCA

The Property Council of Australia has warned the cost of housing in Brisbane would rise if Labor implemented its council election pledge to require more car spaces in new developments, The Brisbane Times reported.

Labor lord mayoral candidate Rod Harding last week announced his administration, if elected, would stick force developers to strictly adhere to the City Plan including increased on-site car parking requirements for new developments.

PCA Queensland executive director Chris Mountford told The Brisbane Times that would hurt homebuyers.

"Adding a single car park can add $50,000 to the cost of an apartment," he said.

"Considering that approximately 19 per cent of all dwellings in Brisbane are apartments, and across all housing types, almost 50 per cent of dwellings have one or less vehicles, it would seem that this plan could force homebuyers to pay for additional parking spaces they will likely never use.""Where world cities are limiting the number of car parks in residential developments and instead focusing on public transport, this plan proposes to increase our reliance on private vehicle transport thereby further contributing to congestion on our roads.""Better public transport, not more car parks, is a smarter solution for inner city suburbs."Mr Mountford told The Brisbane Times the property industry generated about $34.6 billion in economic activity annually.

"With the property industry directly employing 83,859 people in Brisbane – 11.8 per cent of all jobs – Mr Harding needs to be careful that his proposed planning changes are not a risk to local jobs," he said.