House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-10-30 Daily Xml

Contents

CAPITAL CITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Mrs VLAHOS (Taylor) (15:06): My question is to the Minister for Planning. Can the minister inform the house about the recent changes to the Capital City Development Plan?

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Planning, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (15:06): I thank the honourable member for her question. I am pleased to advise that the government has now finalised the new planning rules for the Adelaide CBD which are aimed at revitalising the city centre and unlocking millions of dollars in investment potential. The changes were gazetted last Thursday (that is, 25 October) to the City of Adelaide Development Plan, which came into interim effect in March of this year.

I personally met with a number of residents, including residents in Halls Place, as part of the consultation process, and we have given greater opportunity for residents who are adjacent to or nearby developments to have an opportunity to express their opinion in the development assessment process. New measures include:

more importance on community engagement for 'catalyst sites' and in areas where medium and high-rise development and low residential areas connect (or interface zones as they are known);

more focus on relating a building to its local environment;

policies that ensure that adult licensed premises are established in appropriate parts of the city away from residential areas and prominent frontages; and

exemptions to minimum building heights to allow for low-rise buildings in special circumstances, such as in the event of fire damage.

Since the introduction of these measures in March, a total of $1.2 billion worth of private development projects have been proposed within the city. Already four projects to the value of $256 million have been approved by the Development Assessment Commission. These changes will complement the existing investment in the Adelaide Oval, the Adelaide Convention Centre, the Riverbank Precinct and the new Royal Adelaide Hospital, and, of course, will continue to create employment opportunities for South Australians.