Delivering the Plan - Department of Planning and Environment

Implementation Plan

The South East and Tablelands Regional Plan 2036 is the NSW Government’s strategy for guiding land use planning decisions for the South East and Tablelands Region for the next 20 years.

The South West and Tablelands region consists of 9 local government areas: Bega Valley, Eurobodalla, Goulburn Mulwaree, Hilltops, Queanbeyan-Palerang, Snowy Monaro, Upper Lachlan, Wingecarribee and Yass Valley.

The Regional Plan sets out four goals for the South East and Tablelands Region:

A connected and prosperous economy;
A diverse environment interconnected by biodiversity corridors;
Healthy and connected communities; and
Environmentally sustainable housing choices.

The NSW Government has established new governance arrangements to oversee the implementation of the vision, goals and actions in the Regional Plan and the release of an Annual Monitoring Report.

Purpose

Responsibility for implementing actions and monitoring the intended outcomes in the Regional Plan is shared with our important regional stakeholders, including Councils, other State agencies, service providers and the development industry. All stakeholders need to have a good understanding of the priorities and the deliverables.

The purpose of this Implementation Plan is to:

ensure ongoing collaboration and agreement on the implementation of actions;
assign accountabilities for the implementation of actions;
explain the role of different groups and committees involved in implementation;
guide the South East and Tablelands Delivery, Coordination and Monitoring Committee in its role of overseeing delivery of the Regional Plan; and
inform the Annual Monitoring Report.

Implementation

Goals, directions and actions

The Regional Plan comprises four goals, 28 directions and 109 actions. The goals articulate the intended outcome; the directions identify the broad issues or policy areas that we need to focus on and the actions represent the steps we need to take or initiatives we need to introduce/ implement to achieve the goals. Actions are either implemented as strategies or as initiatives.

The NSW Government has identified a lead agency and relevant partner stakeholders for each action. The lead agency is responsible for project managing the various tasks required to ensure success. Key stakeholders are those agencies, councils or organisations considered important partners for implementation. The list of partners is not exclusive and additional stakeholders may be identified as implementation progresses.

Indicative timings for actions are as follows:

Immediate – 0-2 years;

Short term – 3-5 years;
Medium term – 5-10 years; and
Long term – 10+ years.

Some actions are also designated as ‘ongoing’ to reflect their delivery being achieved through Local Environmental Plans, local planning strategies and other land use planning that are required to be consistent with the Regional Plan.

Each action in the Regional Plan will be implemented through a mix of mechanisms that reflect a range of ongoing strategies and catalyst initiatives that will deliver on the vision and directions in the Plan, including:

Strategies:

Local planning directions issued under Section 117 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 by the Minister for Planning that ensure council planning strategies and controls are consistent with the Regional Plan;
Integrated planning and reporting under the Local Government Act 1993; and
Whole-of government policy alignment.

Progress on delivering these actions will be reviewed as part of any review or adjustment to the Regional Plan.

Catalyst initiatives:

Matters that require a partnership between Council and the NSW Government;
Publication of reports or data; and
Regional collaboration across government, business, key stakeholders and the wider community for specific projects and processes.

Priority actions for 2017-2019

Priorities for the South East and Tablelands are to work collaboratively to grow and diversify the economy, leveraging opportunities for tourism and agriculture, and coordinating the delivery of infrastructure to support sustainably located communities. Actions to support these outcomes represent the immediate areas of focus.

Nine priority actions have been identified for implementation in 2017-2019. These actions respond to strong representations made in feedback to the draft Regional Plan or are areas where initial investigations or planning are required. These priorities will be overseen by the South East and Tablelands Delivery, Coordination and Monitoring Committee and will require a collaborative effort involving multiple agencies, councils and stakeholders.

Develop a Visitor Economy Strategy for the Snowy Mountains.
Map important agricultural land to better inform strategic and local planning processes.
Develop profiles of the leading agricultural industries to guide future investment decisions.
Develop a strategy to encourage marine based tourism along the South Coast and Illawarra-Shoalhaven.
Prepare guidelines for local housing strategies.
Coordinate the provision of services and infrastructure required to support housing delivery in the Yass Valley and Queanbeyan-Palerang local government areas, including South Jerrabomberra and Parkwood.
Develop best-practice guidelines for planning, designing and developing healthy built environments.
Work with the ACT Government to develop a cross-border land and housing monitor.
Improve planning authorities access to regional biodiversity corridor mapping and methodology.

Governance

Effective governance arrangements are critical to successful delivery.

Delivery, Coordination and Monitoring Committee

The South East and Tablelands Delivery, Coordination and Monitoring Committee has been established to oversee and coordinate the implementation of the Regional Plan and brings together the agencies and organisations responsible for delivering the majority of the proposed outcomes under the Regional Plan. The focus of the Committee is implementation of the Regional Plan.

Representation on this Committee is about engaging relevant and operations-focused people from agencies and organisations responsible for delivering the majority of proposed outcomes under the Regional Plan.

The role of the Committee is to:

oversee and coordinate the implementation of the Regional Plan;
provide accountability for delivery of the Regional Plan;
be kept informed of general progress and participate in delivery of priority actions;
monitor and track the progress of implementation the Regional Plan;
where impediments are identified, collaborate for resolution;
provide a forum to discuss and resolve implementation issues or action delivery in a changing regional policy environment;
provide high-level progress updates to the South East and Tablelands Regional Leadership Executive (via the Department of Premier and Cabinet);
inform the preparation of the Annual Monitoring Report; and
inform and participate in a five-year review of the Regional Plan.

Committee membership includes:

Department of Planning and Environment
Canberra Region Joint Organisation
Department of Premier and Cabinet
Department of Industry
Transport for NSW

Supporting Groups

The South East and Tablelands Delivery, Coordination and Monitoring Committee can be supported by outcome-specific groups that bring together appropriate personnel (government, industry or community) to provide advice on particular issues or projects.

Existing governance framework

It is important to recognise the existing broader governance framework in operation within the region to ensure the South East and Tablelands Delivery, Coordination and Monitoring Committee complements current activity.

The South East and Tablelands Regional Leadership Executive, which is a Department of Premier and Cabinet led initiative, is a body that supports close working relationships between NSW Government agencies and the Canberra Region Joint Organisation. The network encourages strategic collaboration, consultation, solution brokerage and engagement on regional priorities across government.

The Committee benefits from having access to the same agency and local government organisations that comprise the Regional Leadership Executive. This is particularly important where the NSW Government ‘Fit for the Future’ reforms are changing the way Government works with councils on local priorities.

Links to other strategies

The NSW Government has in place, or is developing, a number of other strategies that will influence the implementation of the Regional Plan, including the South East Local Strategic Plan, Riverina Local Strategic Plan, Murray- Murrumbidgee Regional Transport Plan, and the Southern Regional Transport Plan.

The South East and Tablelands Delivery, Coordination and Monitoring Committee will have a role in ensuring that there is appropriate coordination across the implementation of these strategies. This applies particularly to those strategies that address housing, growth and infrastructure. It is anticipated that these strategies will complement the focus on growth in the Regional Plan.

It is also important there is strong links with community strategic plans prepared by Councils and that set out key strategic priorities identified by local communities over 10 years.

Regional Governance Framework

Review mechanisms

Annual Monitoring Report

An Annual Monitoring Report will be prepared to monitor progress on implementation of the Regional Plan. This will report progress on goals, directions and actions, with a particular focus on the priorities that have been agreed with the South East and Tablelands Delivery, Coordination and Monitoring Committee. It will also list achievements and important regional highlights from the year.
Implementation priorities will be revised and a new program for work will be identified for each subsequent year.

Regional Plan Review

The Regional Plan will be subject to a five-yearly review, or as necessary, to update and revise the strategies provided through the goals, directions and actions. A five-yearly review will revisit regional performance, challenges and opportunities and incorporate the most up-to-date information provided through the census process. The review of the Regional Plan will be informed by the South East and Tablelands Delivery, Coordination and Monitoring Committee as well as the Annual Monitoring Reports.

Implementation Plan

The priorities identified in this Implementation Plan will be updated on an annual basis and will form the work program for each subsequent year. This will ensure that implementation of the Regional Plan remains current and responsive to regional conditions.