Overview
The NSW Government has released draft strategic regional land use plans for the Upper Hunter and New England North West regions of the state for public comment. The plans, which form part of the government's overall Strategic Regional Land Use Policy, protect high-quality agricultural land and its water sources from inappropriate mining and coal seam gas proposals.
Draft plans will also be produced for the Central West, Southern Highlands, Murrumbidgee, Alpine and Western regions.
Consultation - have your say
Both draft strategic regional land use plans are currently on public exhibition until Thursday, 3 May 2012 along with the draft NSW Aquifer Interference Policy and a draft Code of Practice for Coal Seam Gas Exploration.
These exhibited documents can all be viewed
here and members of the public are invited to make submissions and attend one of the public forums or information sessions being held throughout each region.
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.
Interim arrangements for projects on strategic agricultural land
The department has developed a policy that sets out the interim arrangements for mining and coal seam gas proposals on strategic agricultural land until the draft SRLUPs are finalised.
Policy statement 
- Interim strategic agricultural land policy for State Significant and transitional Part 3A mining and coal seam gas proposals in the Upper Hunter and New England North West regions.
Other Strategic Regional 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.