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Media Releases |
Media Release - Department of Planning Sydney: 17 April 2009 HOUSING, JOBS, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FOR LOWER HUNTER CORRIDOR Executive Director for Rural and Regional Planning, Richard Pearson, today released a draft strategy which plans for 8,000 new dwellings, 1,500 hectares of employment lands and increased conservation lands in the western sections of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie city. Mr Pearson said the Department of Planning’s Newcastle-Lake Macquarie Western Corridor Planning Strategy went on public exhibition today for more than five weeks until May 22. He said the strategy adds further planning detail to a key area identified in the Lower Hunter Regional Strategy for residential, employment and conservation uses. The strategy will contribute to the creation of well-planned and serviced communities in the area, delivering affordable housing and jobs. “The corridor covered by the strategy covers 6,380 hectares of land that stretches from Beresfield to Killingworth, including Minmi, Cameron Park, West Wallsend and Edgeworth,” Mr Pearson said. “Development in this area is expected to result in the dedication of new conservation lands in the Watagan to Stockton green corridor outlined in the Lower Hunter Regional Strategy.” The majority of this land is owned by Coal and Allied, Xstrata and the Hunter Development Corporation, where much of the corridor was used for underground mining purposes in the past but is now vacant. “This strategy identifies key planning principles and provides a broad strategic framework to guide future development and ensure positive conservation outcomes,” Mr Pearson said. “For instance, it outlines infrastructure which is likely to be required by the new employment and housing precincts and also outlines site constraints, major transport linkages and regional and local conservation corridors.” The strategy predicts that the corridor has the capacity to deliver 8,000 new dwellings. This is of particular importance in meeting the housing needs of the Lower Hunter, where the NSW Government is planning for an additional 160,000 residents and 115,000 dwellings between 2006-31. It also states that the potential 1,500 hectares of employment lands would boost the local economy and are located in the northern part of the corridor around Black Hill while the southern section is based at West Wallsend and Killingworth. “The strategy recognises a vegetation corridor along Newcastle Link Road connecting to Blackbutt Reserve and also along George Booth Drive to provide a visual green entry statement as well as a fauna corridor, with a special focus on bird species,” Mr Pearson said. In preparing the Newcastle-Lake Macquarie Western Corridor Planning Strategy, the Department of Planning worked closely with representatives from Newcastle City and Lake Macquarie Council’s, Coal and Allied, Xstrata and Hunter Development Corporation. The strategy will help inform the Department’s assessment of a concept plan for the Minmi and Link Rd north and south development by Coal and Allied. The strategy is available at www.planning.nsw.gov.au.
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