Shops, cafés and offices in Gladstone — do you need approval?

Zone by zone

Shop / Food and drink outlet / Office. Residential zones first.

Overlays that change the answer

• Heritage overlay (local heritage place). On a local heritage place: a change of use that would be accepted subject to requirements and involves building work becomes code assessable; any building work not associated with a change of use (including minor work) is code assessable; demolition, partial demolition or removal is impact assessable; operational work changing landscaping, fencing or natural features named in the citation is code assessable. Work under a Queensland Heritage Act exemption certificate is accepted. (Table 5.10.1 Heritage overlay code)
• Regional infrastructure overlay. Any change of use that would be accepted subject to requirements becomes code assessable; operational work within 20 m of identified regional electricity or water infrastructure is code assessable. (Table 5.10.1 Regional infrastructure overlay code)
• Biodiversity overlay. A change of use that would be accepted (or accepted subject to requirements) becomes code assessable on land in a wetland or wetland protection area, protected area, wildlife habitat area, turtle nesting site or high ecological value waterway; all filling or excavation is code assessable. (Table 5.10.1 Biodiversity overlay code)
• Acid sulfate soils overlay. On land at or below 20 m AHD, a change of use or subdivision that excavates 100 m³ or more of soil at or below 5 m AHD, or fills 500 m³ or more (average depth 0.5 m or more) on land at or below 5 m AHD, becomes code assessable if it would otherwise be accepted. (Table 5.10.1 Acid sulfate soils overlay code)
• Airport environs overlay. Any change of use, subdivision or building work becomes impact assessable if a structure intrudes above the Obstacle Limitation Surface, Transitional Surface or Approach and Departure Surface, and code assessable if within the ANEF 25–30 or 30–35 contour. (Table 5.10.1 Airport environs overlay code)

Worth knowing in Gladstone

Gladstone Regional Council Planning Scheme (Version 2.1), Part 5, converted from the council's PDF (not an official copy). A material change of use is impact assessable unless the table says otherwise or the use isn't listed; reconfiguring a lot is code assessable unless Table 5.6.1 says otherwise; building work and operational work are accepted unless the tables say otherwise (section 5.3.2). Building work (section 5.7): for a dwelling house there is 'no change to assessment category' against the relevant zone code, and no other building work is regulated unless an overlay table says so — so sheds, extensions, pools, fences and demolition need no planning development application outside overlays (mainly the Heritage overlay); a building approval under the Building Act is still needed. Accepted development subject to requirements that doesn't meet the listed acceptable outcomes becomes code assessable (section 5.3.3). Schedule 6 of the Planning Regulation (Table 5.4.1) can make a dwelling house or community residence accepted development regardless of the zone tables; Table 5.4.2 lets a one-into-two-lot subdivision in a residential or industry zone (not rural residential) be code assessable under schedule 10, part 12 of the Regulation against schedule 12 benchmarks. Precincts: Medium density residential — Beaches Village Circuit (dwelling house and dual occupancy impact assessable; 1,000 m² lots) and Gladstone West Hospital (shop/office/café code); Low density residential — Calliope neighbourhood (800 m² lots); Mixed use — Jeffery Court (office and some other uses lose their code/accepted pathway); Specialised centre — Clinton and Central Gladstone / Toolooa Street east (the only places retail/office uses are listed); Low impact industry — Hanson Road (showrooms, hardware); Medium impact industry — Red Rover Road (structure-plan pathway); Rural residential — Bicentennial Drive Enterprise; Sport and recreation — Benaraby Motor Sport; Special purpose — Gladstone Airport; Limited development — Flood affected lands (dwelling house code assessable, home based business accepted subject to requirements) and Major industry buffer. There are no local plans (section 5.9). Operational work: earthworks of 100 m³ or more are code assessable in all zones (Rural zone: 500 m³ for water retention, 100 m³ otherwise, accepted subject to requirements); the Coastal hazard and Flood hazard overlays make filling or excavation over 50 m³ code assessable. The Coastal hazard, Hazardous activities, Steep land, Scenic amenity and Water resource catchment overlays don't change the category but add their own acceptable outcomes to accepted development subject to requirements (code assessable if not met). Where land is in more than one zone or overlay, the highest category applies, and an overlay's category overrides the zone's (section 5.3.2).

What else you'll need

• Building approval
• Food licence (for a café)

More about Gladstone

• What can you build in Gladstone? Council overview and development applications
• Every Queensland zone explained, with what each council allows and the planning overlays that change the answer
• What Gladstone Regional Council charges for a development application, compared with other councils
• A Landbrief site report for your Gladstone address — every planning layer that applies to the lot
• Development applications in Clinton
• Development applications in Agnes Water
• Development applications in Boyne Island
• Development applications in Tannum Sands
• Development applications in Gladstone Central
• Development applications in Calliope
• Development applications in New Auckland
• Development applications in West Gladstone

Other projects in Gladstone

Granny flatDual occupancySubdivideShed or carportExtensionPoolFence or wallHome businessTownhousesClear treesDemolish

The statewide position on this project: Shop, café or office in Queensland.