Franzen Tips #1161 -Land iQ - A Valuable Tool for NSW

 

Franzen Tips #1161:

 

Land iQ - A Valuable Tool for NSW

 

The NSW government has been successful in securing $11m in funding to further develop a land use modelling tool called Land iQ. It was initially developed by the government to support the delivery of temporary housing in the government’s flood response in northern NSW, however it is now being re-focussed to assist the state government’s audit of publicly owned land for housing purposes.

 

The NSW government webpage says that “Land iQ brings more than 40 land use data types into one single platform, making it easy to search more than 8 million lots and properties to test the impact of different land use scenarios.”  The tool is currently only available to NSW Government agencies, however, it is planned to continue to refine the tool and develop license options to make it available to other levels of government, Councils, Local Aboriginal Land Councils, researchers and industry.

 

Its features include:

· Data Library – A comprehensive spatial and government data library including typology assumptions sourced from relevant delivery entities (e.g. School Infrastructure, Health Infrastructure, Landcom).

· Site search – Advanced multiple-criteria site searching including ownership, size, planning controls, and proximity to services, infrastructure, amenities, constraints and more.

· Geocentric analysis – A comprehensive analysis of a particular location against benchmarks and other geographies.

· Scenario planning – Land use scenario analysis to understand the impact of change in use across social, economic, environmental and financial metrics.

So how will the tool help in the current housing crisis? In the FAQ on their website, they address every question with the following answer:

 

Land iQ provides a consistent, whole of government approach to site identification. The tool will allow users to understand the planning context and identify sites with acceptable environmental risks when delivering residential development. Land iQ can be used to:

· Identify areas of priority for housing development (and type of housing) and shortlist sites using a multi-criteria search

· Assessing site and LGA resilience and impacts for planning tasks and site development considerations

· Undertake preliminary site due diligence using the data library

· Display the alignment between the delivery of critical infrastructure and with development of new homes

· Generate or upload 3D designs to understand built form and environmental impacts

· Use all modules to consolidate relevant data, strategic plans, SEPPs and analytics to assess DAs/rezoning proposals.

Hopefully, this new tool will enable the government to minimise some of the planning mistakes of the past and expedite the availability of new land to be made available for future building projects.