Noosa

About Noosa

Over many decades Noosa residents have valiantly battled to protect the Shire and its natural environment. Many of those battles were won - and as a result Noosans are blessed to live in one of the last bastions of natural beauty, with skies unsmogged, traffic unclogged, river unpolluted - river actually rated amongst the very best non-wilderness waterways in South-east Queensland. It’s not too difficult to live, work and play in the place other people yearn to visit on their holidays: millionaire lifestyle on beer income, or champagne income if you fancy.

In March 2002 the prestigious New York Times travel supplement devoted two pages to the place “that appreciates nature and the good life”. In May 2003 amidst much media hype Virgin Blue boss Sir Richard Branson announced he had purchased Makepeace Island on the upper Noosa River for a “staff retreat and training centre”.

Of Noosa’s 875 square kilometres, almost 35 per cent comprises National Parks, Conservation Parks, State Forests, Vacant Crown Land, lakes and streams. Our once contentious planning strategy based on population carrying capacity (dubbed the “population cap”) is now warmly embraced by Shire citizens and envisages a future resident population around 61,000, based on land’s capability to support development available and planned infrastructure.

The Noosa Plan: Choosing Futures town planning process has introduced a highly successful system of community governance, with the establishment of Community Sector Boards (Tourism, Arts & Heritage, Social, Environment, Economic) to ensure that visions within the planning scheme can be achieved.

High-rise, traffic lights, parking meters - all are big city, big stress symbols foreign to Noosa. Successive Councils have resisted developer pressure to introduce high-rise and current legislation prohibits buildings over four storeys. Parking meters are also unwelcome. We may have more than our fair share of roundabouts, but in compensation only two sets of traffic lights: both at school crossings which traverse highways.

Tourism Noosa

There has never been a better time to visit Noosa…..whatever time of year you choose, Noosa has so much to offer visitors all year round. Blessed with a wonderful climate, a green and carefully protected environment and a tourism industry that is committed to looking after visitors. For friendly advice, tours and activities brochures and accommodation and tours booking please call 07 5447 4988.

The Noosa Economy

he Economic Strategies and Innovations Unit has been established to heighten the profile of economic issues and to support business growth and development opportunities in Noosa. The Unit focuses on encouraging identified industries to broaden the Shire's economic base, on attracting lifestyle and creative industries and on further development of the knowledge economy and sustainable industries in the Shire.

Noosa Council's Economic Strategies & Innovations Unit is carrying out a survey of Noosa businesses (business operators and business owners) to help us facilitate growth in the knowledge economy, and to ensure that appropriate services and supporting infrastructure are available to businesses throughout Noosa Shire.

The Creative Noosa Strategy

The Creative Noosa Strategy aims to expand the Shire’s creative, cultural and artistic capacity by enhancing existing programs and developing a range of new activities, which focus on the positive benefits that developing creative industries can bring.
These initiatives will build upon the Shire’s past achievements of developing a strong Noosa brand, leadership in environmental sustainability and strong community involvement in order to position Noosa to reap the benefits of the new knowledge economy.

Creative Noosa is a key component of Noosa Council’s Corporate Plan and its Arts and Heritage and Economic Sector Board Plans . It is the first major practical arts initiative to come out of these plans