Vision Granny Flats, your local Granny Flat Experts, bring to you another interesting snippet:

Sian Johnson
http://www.architectureau.com/
20 October 2015

Australia's First Compulsory Solar Suburb - CanberraThe new suburb of Denman Prospect in Canberra is being referred to as Australia’s first mandated solar community after its developers introduced a minimum solar requirement for each dwelling.

Each residence in the new development is required to have a three kilowatt system capable of generating approximately 4,146 kilowatt hours of energy each year, which equals about half of the energy used by an average Australian household.

Denman Prospect, a suburb that will eventually contain around 4,000 dwellings, is located close to Canberra’s CBD and is bordered by the Molonglo River and the National Arboretum.

The suburb is also the first in Australia to make a commitment to the Homes for Homes initiative – an affordable and social housing scheme that encourages both developers and individual home owners to make a tax-deductible donation of 0.1 percent of the sale price of a property.

A proportion of the proceeds from each land sale in Denman Prospect will go towards a fund for affordable housing started by not-for-profit social enterprise The Big Issue.

Capital Estate Developments managing director Stephen Byron said that the solar systems for the first 350 houses in the suburb have been purchased in bulk, which lowers the price for individual residents.

“The model we are providing is convenient, user-friendly and allows families to check their generation via an app over wi-fi,” he said.

“In terms of environmental benefits, every installation will be like taking a car off the road and it will reduce the carbon footprint of the entire suburb by about a third,” Byron claimed.

Although the development is believed to be the first new suburb where solar technology is mandatory for each dwelling, many other communities across Australia have already collectively embraced solar energy production.

Capital Estate Developments is behind Stage 1 of the project, and the first pieces of land were sold at auction on Saturday 17 October. Stage 2 and 3 of the suburb are still being developed by the Land Development Agency.

Want to see what Ipswich & Logan Granny Flats, your granny flat experts, market leaders & largest suppliers of Granny Flats in SE Qld are doing – checkout our story in the video below in this Channel 9 News feature...

Channel 9 News, 6pm
Sunday, 11 October 2015

Granny Flat BOOMAs property prices continue to soar savvy investors and home owners are finding new ways to make massive returns. 

The trend of the humble granny flat is booming and new laws are making it easier than ever for families to cash in on their own back yard.

While Robert Davey (a Vision Property Group Qld/Ipswich Granny Flat client) kicks back in his newly built granny flat meters away his house is paying down his mortgage.

You’ve got someone else to help you contribute towards the costs.

His back yard addition in Ipswich is just one of the slick new granny flats (Ipswich Granny Flats) popping up across the South East.

Some of the outer suburbs there is increasing demands for the properties with their granny flat.
They come with modern bathrooms, even built in laundries and with a moderate outlay of around $120,000.00 can reap big returns if you rent them out.

Rob Davey : ‘That I’ve made it very liveable, it’s a good size, I’ve pretty much got everything I want in it.’

It’s a trend not just in Ipswich but across the South East with 150 applications in Brisbane and 60 on the Gold Coast last financial year - now some councils are making it easier to cash in.

Logan recently changed their planning to allow granny flats to be rented out, something Ipswich did years ago but in Brisbane granny flats can only be built for family members to occupy.

Granny flats are very popular with parents who might have teenage children who are looking for their own personal space.  (See case studies: http://www.ipswichgrannyflats.com.au/case studies)

On the Gold Coast the council has made it easier for families to live together on the same block.

The best thing about that is that the infrastructure costs to that is waived, that’s a saving of $20,000.00.

If you’re thinking of adding a granny flat there are some simple things you should remember.  Make sure there is a separate entrance to the residence and consider adding a covered outdoor entertaining area.

You don’t have to build new, modifying an existing space can also be worth your while.

In the longer terms granny flats will add value but it’s important to look at the location of the property and whether or not there is demand in that location.

Claire Hunter, 9 news

HOUSING national magazine
September 2015

Left: The short-list of nominees included: (L–R) Back row: Carrie Hall, Sandra Lysaght, Sonia Woolley, Alison Sayce. Middle Row: Jenny Marshall, Ros Hemley, Dell Hubbard. Front Row: Maree OShea, Donna Harvey, Ruiwen Kong, Sue Dewar, Maria Schandl, Nicole Cox. Not present Dee Bounds,
Leigh Caldwell.

Two women at the forefront of Queensland’s residential building industry have been recognised by HIA at an inaugural event.

HIA has developed, over many years, a large network of business partners among our membership. These partners are typically women, and partners of the contractors running small, family owned businesses. The contribution these partners make to the Queensland home building industry is substantial, and recognised in HIA’s annual awards program.

Now, HIA Queensland has hosted the inaugural HIA Recognition of Women in the Industry event to acknowledge the role that many women are playing in leading the future of Queensland’s home building industry. HIA’s aim was to demonstrate in a tangible way that women should aspire to leadership positions in the industry, which is still very male-dominated.

The industry must do everything it can to encourage women to join it at all levels, to help ensure that there is an adequate supply of skills to meet the future demand for housing in the state. Queensland simply cannot afford to ignore the contribution that half the population can make to the ongoing health of the industry and its contribution to the economy.

The HIA Recognition of Women in Industry event was held on 31 July 2015 at the Victoria Golf Club, Brisbane. More than 150 members and industry representatives attended, including Pino Monaco, national vice president; Ron Dwyer, immediate past national president, and chair of the HIA Charitable Foundation; past president Jill Lee, and members of the HIA Qld Executive Committee.

The HIA Recognition of Women in the Industry event recognised women who have inspired, motivated, achieved results, and lead by example. Two women in particular who exemplify success and professionalism are Chris Cameron and Debbie Johnson, who were speakers for the event.

HIA is proud to provide the opportunity to raise the profile of professional women within the industry, as well as promote and encourage excellence.

In the lead-up to this event HIA received nominations for a ‘recognition of achievement’ award to acknowledge outstanding achievements of women working in industry. HIA was delighted with the response and the calibre of nominations received for this recognition.

Ruiwen Kong, B.Eng, M.Eng, and construction solutions engineer with Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia (CCAA) was the inaugural recipient of the Recognition of Outstanding Achievement.

In nominating Ruiwen for this recognition, CCAA lauded her unique technical qualifications in materials engineering, as well as her versatility – from being on site for concrete pours, providing technical advice to architects and builders about the application of concrete, though to lecturing at university.

‘As a woman in civil engineering I quite often get doubted, so this was a real honour to be nominated and have my work recognised,’ she says.

Ruiwen migrated to Australia nine years ago, after studying her Masters in Civil Engineering and living in Singapore for eight years, and completing her Bachelors degree in material engineering in her native city of Shanghai.

‘When I moved it was a bit of a challenge for me as I didn’t know anyone and I didn’t know a lot about the industry,’ she says. But in winning the award, she hopes to provide great encouragement and inspiration for other women in the housing industry.

‘The culture at HIA is very healthy, and I thank especially the people working at HIA Queensland for organising this event.’

Sue Dewar is state design and planning manager with Lendlease Communities (Australia) Limited.

Sue was nominated by Lendlease after developing a new approach to producing consistent and quality outcomes for building on sloping land – outcomes that benefit builders, but more importantly their customers. The ideas informed a design manual which has been adopted nationally by Lendlease.

‘It was a big surprise and I was really overwhelmed,’ she says. ‘I like that we now have a girls’ club within the industry.’

Winning the award means she can not only continue her passion for innovation and housing affordability, but also explore new ideas with the support and confidence of her team.

‘It gives me greater credibility, too, that I have been nominated by my peers,’ she says.

As for the future: ‘The industry is on the cusp of major change and I think housing and community models will evolve quickly and dramatically in the next 20 years. It’s fabulous to be in the industry at this time to explore all of the new options.’

HIA thanks Jill Lee and Stylemaster Homes for their generous support in donating raffle to help raise funds for the HIA Charitable Foundation.

This inaugural event would not have been possible without the generous support from our major partner, HIA Insurance Services, as well as support from Stylemaster Homes, the Stoddart Group, and the Queensland Building and Construction Commission.

An interesting snippet brought to you by your Granny Flat Experts, Ipswich Granny Flats, the largest supplier of granny flats in Brisbane and SE Queensland...

TheUrbanDevelop.com
Staff Writer
20 September 2015

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has thrust urban development into the spotlight with the appointment of Jamie Briggs as Minister for Sustainable Cities and the Built Environment.

Mr Briggs, the Federal Member for Mayo and current Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, was announced as Minister for the new portfolio yesterday as part of a Cabinet reshuffle.

Announcing the appointment Mr Turnbull said the role would focus on encouraging greater co-operation between all levels of government.

“Infrastructure should be assessed objectively and rationally on its merits, there is no place for ideology here at all,” the Prime Minister said.

“The critical thing is to ensure that we get the best outcome in our cities… liveable cities, efficient productive cities, the environment of cities are economic assets,” he said.

Mr Briggs grew up in the River Murray town of Mildura and went to school at St. Joseph’s College in Mildura where he excelled in cricket before moving to Adelaide to pursue dreams of playing for Australia.

In 2008, he won a by-election held to replace the retiring Alexander Downer in the federal seat of Mayo. In 2010, he was appointed the Chairman of the Coalition’s Scrutiny of Government Waste Committee; working with Tony Abbott to identify Labor’s waste and mismanagement of taxpayers’ money.

Following the 2013 election, he was appointed as the Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development in the first Abbott Ministry.

The Property Council welcomed the appointment of Mr Briggs.

“Malcolm Turnbull is perhaps our most urbanist Prime Minister ever and has lost no time in placing cities firmly on the federal agenda,” Property Council Chief Executive Ken Morrison said.

“The move recognises that in the most urbanised country in the world Australia’s productivity challenges are going to be need to to be met in our cities,” he said.

The Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC) has been among those advocating for appointing a Minister for Cities by the Federal Government and in August presented a report outlining the need for such a portfolio.

ASBEC’s members include the Property Council, the Institute of Architects, the Planning Institute and Engineers Australia, so their opinion carries a lot of weight.

The report recommends that “through a Minister for Cities, the Australian Government lead the development of an intergovernmental agreement with the states and territories supporting: better data collection and research to understand our cities; evidence-based investment to drive productivity; new financing arrangements that leverage the strengths of every sphere of government helping to deliver more productive, liveable and sustainable cities”.

The surprise appointment was roundly welcomed as a major step forward for town planning and urban development in Australia.