Overview
The NSW Government’s approach to strategic regional land use consists of a number of complementary initiatives designed to address the growing land use conflict being experienced in many regional areas of the State, particularly between mining and agriculture.
One of these initiatives is the preparation of strategic regional land use plans for seven different regions across New South Wales – the Upper Hunter, New England North West, Central West, Southern Highlands, Murrumbidgee, Alpine and Western regions.
These plans will deliver a tailored approach to the specific needs, challenges and opportunities of the areas they cover and provide local communities with far greater certainty about how their regions will change over time.
The Department of Planning and Infrastructure is the lead agency responsible for delivering these plans and is currently working in close consultation with other government agencies, relevant stakeholder groups, local councils and the community on the preparation of the first two plans for the Upper Hunter and New England North West regions.
Consultation - have your say
Community and stakeholder consultation is a key element in the preparation of the strategic regional land use plans. The information below will be kept regularly updated as the plans progress and new consultation events are scheduled.
Strategic regional land use plans
All draft strategic regional land use plans will be placed on extended public exhibition, allowing community members to have their say by lodging submissions. Public exhibition of the draft Upper Hunter and New England North West plans is expected to take place early in 2012.
During the public exhibition periods a number of public forums will also be held in each region to allow the local community to raise issues directly with government and stakeholder representatives, ask questions and discuss relevant issues in more detail before lodging their submissions.
Other initiatives - current consultation opportunities
Public consultation on a number of strategic regional land use initiatives will take place shortly and information on how to have your say will be made available here.
Consultation to date
Since the department began preparing strategic regional land use plans in May 2011, extensive community and stakeholder consultation has taken place.
A stakeholder reference group consisting of peak industry and conservation groups was established to partner with NSW Government agencies in the drafting process and ensure a comprehensive and balanced approach. The group will continue to meet regularly throughout the preparation of the plans, and to finalise the plans after public exhibition.
In addition to the work of the reference group, a number of other specific consultation activities have also been undertaken, including regional forums with industry and council representatives, presentations to stakeholder conferences and information sessions with community groups.
A full list of the consultation activities undertaken to date, as well as detailed information on each of the regional forums, is available below. This information will be updated regularly throughout the consultation process.
Previous consultation (former Coal and Gas Strategy)
At the beginning of 2011, preparation of the (former) NSW Coal and Gas Strategy commenced including public exhibition of a scoping paper and terms of reference document that attracted more than 1,000 submissions. Community forums were also held in Gunnedah, Lithgow, Wollongong and Singleton.
All the input received will be fully considered in the preparation of strategic regional land use plans along with the additional community and stakeholder consultation continuing to take place across the State, as outlined above.
Historic information on the NSW Coal and Gas Strategy and the submissions received can be found
here.
Next steps
Work is set to commence on the Central West and Southern Highlands plans in the first half of 2012 and information on opportunities for community consultation and input will be advertised and made available here.
Preparation of plans for the Murrumbidgee, Alpine and Western regions will then follow.
Other Strategic Land Use initiatives
In addition to the strategic regional land use plans, there are a number of other initiatives that make up the Government’s overall approach to strategic regional land use. These are outlined
here along with the responsible NSW Government agency.
More information
This website will be updated regularly with additional information about the strategic regional land use plans and how you can get involved.