Councillors are considering changes to the city’s 20-year growth plans in the wake of an election that shifted the balance of power to candidates who promised to slow down development.

The State Government, which is ultimately responsible for planning, wants the new council to provide its views on growth by next month.

About 310 hectares of semi-rural land in southern Redland Bay was marked as a possible future site for development in the government’s South East Queensland Regional Plan three years ago.

The previous council called on the government to open up almost 200 hectares of the investigation area to development including townhouses and apartments, in line with a council-backed planning study.

However, the new council is poised to drop its support for the proposed urban village as many councillors believe the development is not needed and the area lacks suitable infrastructure.

A draft version of the new Local Growth Management Strategy – amended by planning officers following a councillor workshop – instead calls for the area to be made a rural and regional landscape precinct.

Such a move would aim to protect the character of the area from intensive development.

Redland City’s growth blueprint is likely to undergo further changes in the next few weeks before it is submitted to the State Government as part of the Regional Plan review.

The former council had planned for the population to rise by 55,000 residents between 2006 and 2026. About 22,800 new houses and apartment units would be built in this time.

The draft new plan suggests Redland City will instead plan to gain about 43,000 residents in the next two decades, with a population of 176,000 in 2026.

The number of new homes and units would drop to about 19,600.

Mayor Melva Hobson, who supported no more than 17,500 new dwellings during the election campaign, said at a planning and policy meeting last week she felt further changes were needed.

The plan has been deferred pending another councillor workshop.

Developer Fox and Bell, which owns land in the southern Redland Bay area, said the proposed village was a chance to move away from poor planning of the past.

“The proposed removal of the Redland Bay South area takes away the opportunity to deliver a fully planned village which has little or no negative impacts on our lifestyle and gives the opportunity to get the planning right for a change,” principal Greg Bell said.