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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-06-22 Daily Xml
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MOUNT BARKER DEVELOPMENT PLAN AMENDMENT

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (15:36): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Urban Development and Planning a question regarding the District Council of Mount Barker.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: On Thursday 3 June I was pleased to represent the Hon. Mr Paul Holloway at the official opening of the Mount Barker Laratinga linear trail extension, which was made possible by a generous grant from the Planning and Development Fund Open Space program. I am pleased to report that the elected officials I met, including mayor Ann Ferguson and senior staff of the District Council of Mount Barker, advised me that they are most grateful for the very generous financial support provided by the state government to help fund the Laratinga linear trail extension. I am also pleased to report to this place that the elected officials and senior staff I spoke to from the district council were also generally supportive of the state government's initiated—

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire: This is a ministerial statement.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: Do I get protection? Do I need to start again? It is a very important question this one.

The PRESIDENT: I did not notice the chamber complaining when the Hon. Mr Ridgway was longwinded. The Hon. Mr Wortley.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: I am also pleased to report to this place that elected officials and senior staff I spoke to from the district council were also generally supportive of the state government-initiated Mount Barker development plan amendment, which will provide for the responsible planning of housing, employment and open space, with future population growth in the Mount Barker region. Will the minister advise the chamber of the government's proposal as part of the 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide to ensure that future growth in Mount Barker will provide for responsible planning, housing affordability and economic growth?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister Assisting the Premier in Public Sector Management) (15:38): The release of the 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide has provided a responsible planning road map for the expected steady population growth in the region, a plan that provides for housing, employment opportunities, economic growth, open space and environmental protection, restoration and enhancement. The 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide provides a planning blueprint for steady population growth of 560,000 people, the construction of 258,000 additional homes, economic growth of $127.7 billion and the creation of 282,000 jobs.

The proposed Mount Barker development plan amendment is one of a number of initiatives that will assist the government to achieve the objectives set down in the 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide. For more than a year now the Department of Planning and Local Government has been working closely with the District Council of Mount Barker, state government agencies and landowners to draft a ministerial development plan amendment to guide growth opportunities for the township. Ever since the opening of the Heysen tunnels reduced the driving time to Adelaide, Mount Barker has been a magnet for new residents seeking to enjoy the unique lifestyle offered by the Adelaide Hills.

Given the continued demand for housing in the district, it was not surprising that the government would consider Mount Barker's potential to accommodate additional growth as part of the draft 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide. This draft was released for two months of public consultation between July and September last year, allowing the government to use feedback from the community to finetune the final 30-year plan.

The 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide was released in February this year, identifying indicative areas of land to be targeted for further urban growth, taking into consideration the concerns raised by the Mount Barker council and the local community. The areas being proposed for rezoning in the draft DPA are the result of further discussion and investigation. These areas seek to ensure that targets from the 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide can be achieved, while still contributing to compact and cohesive town expansion. These guidelines seek to replace the ad hoc development that has occurred in and around Mount Barker during the past 30 years, contributing to many of the concerns that are currently being raised by the community.

This proposed rezoning of land in the District Council of Mount Barker will be a guide to development not just for housing but also for a range of uses such as open space and recreation, community services, retail business and industry. As much as possible, the rezoning is integrated into the adjacent urban areas of the Mount Barker and Nairne townships. About 45 hectares of mainly rural land to the south-west of Nairne as well as 1,265 hectares to the south and west of the existing Mount Barker township are to be rezoned as part of the development plan amendment.

While antidevelopment groups seem to be convinced that somehow this is some of the best agricultural land in the state (which might be a surprise to farmers in the Mid North and the South-East), much of the land is currently being used for hobby farms and agistment. Worthy as hobby farms might be to the lifestyle of tree-changers, they are hardly the productive agricultural pursuits likely to be flooding the local economy with potential export earnings, as some would suggest.

Having said that, the District Council of Mount Barker's objective to protect the hills environment, including the retention of native vegetation and natural creek lines, forms part of the requirements proposed for the new growth area. At its heart, the DPA provides for the development of at least 7,000 new homes, of which 15 per cent must meet affordable housing criteria.

It is important to point out that this is a modest increase in population compared with the previous decade, when the number of residents of the District Council of Mount Barker grew at an annual average of almost 2.9 per cent. Even if the Mount Barker council area absorbs all of the growth anticipated in the Adelaide Hills region during the life of the 30-year plan—and I assure the council that that is not our expectation—the average annual growth rate would be just 1.4 per cent; half the pace of the previous decade of ad hoc development.

The difference is that the future growth for the area will be accommodated in a more planned and strategic manner, through the development plan amendment, so as to avoid the perceived problems created by the unplanned surge in growth in the community of the past decade. This development plan for the Mount Barker region also allows for:

current development controls for the affected areas to support a range of primary production activities (most of these areas are not envisaged for urban development);

bushfire protection area data to reflect the change in land use whilst ensuring that bushfire risk matters are considered during the assessment of development proposals; and

restrictions on development at Bald Hills Road to potentially allow possible future freeway access.

Rezoning this area will also allow for a wide variety of housing—from houses on a single block to townhouses, for example—to be developed in the new growth areas, as well as the existing residential areas of Mount Barker and Nairne.

Consolidation and changes of policies within the existing township centre will also accommodate higher density development. The structure plan for the area will also guide the development of employment opportunities, industry and economic growth and also the provision of infrastructure and services.

I come to the point I just made in answering the previous question from the Hon. Michelle Lensink. Negotiations to determine key infrastructure, such as the second freeway exit, and the trigger points that will lead to their construction are being conducted in parallel with the draft development plan amendment process. These key projects and the level of development within Mount Barker required to trigger their construction are not part of the draft but will be incorporated into the final DPA.

I am delighted that the Hon. Mr Wortley received such encouraging assessments of the DPA during his visit to Mount Barker to attend the opening of the Laratinga Wetland Trail, and I thank him for doing so. I say to anyone who wishes to go to Mount Barker that they should have a look at the Laratinga wetlands. It is certainly a credit to the work that has been done in that area over many years.

The rezoning process proposal is the beginning of a long-term strategic vision for the region that will not be realised for many years, but it is important that we begin now to achieve our aims. Sensible planning requires identifying now where growth should occur and where important things such as schools, roads and open space are best located. Importantly, the development plan amendment provides a springboard for focused discussions on how infrastructure can be provided to support future development now that a detailed proposal has been documented.

I appreciate that the community might want more detailed information at this stage, but they should not be led to believe that the development plan amendment is anything more than it is. It is not the end of the planning process, but it is a very important step along the way.

I encourage members of the public, industry and community associations, government agencies, local councils and all interested parties to lodge their submissions on the development plan amendment as part of the ongoing consultation process. Submissions can be lodged up until 5pm on Wednesday 4 August. The community consultation period concludes with a public meeting to be held in the district at which people will be able to speak to their submissions.

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