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Public input sought for Far North framework

Media Release | 14 October 2008

Residents of South Australia's Far North are being invited to have a say about the future look of their region.

Minister for Urban Development and Planning Paul Holloway's call for public input coincided with the launch yesterday of a two-month consultation period triggered by the publication of the draft Far North Regional Land Use Framework.

Mr Holloway says the draft framework follows a detailed collaborative process involving four local councils, the Outback Areas Community Development Trust, the Northern Regional Development Board, the Northern and Arid Lands Natural Resource Management Boards, and State agencies.

The proposed framework broadly identifies where future housing, population and industry growth is best located - and not located - across South Australia's vast Far North region.

"The Far North framework tackles a number of changes occurring in the region due to the growth in mining, tourism and industry, as well as changes in town populations," Mr Holloway says.

The Region encompasses more than half the geographic area of South Australia and covers:

Flinders Ranges Council, the City of Port Augusta, the District Council of Coober Pedy and the Municipal Council of Roxby Downs; the majority of the unincorporated (out of council) areas of the state; and the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands (APY Lands).

In the east, the Far North region extends north from the Riverland and Mid North to the state borders with the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales; in the north-west extends to the Western Australian border; and in the south-west reaches the borders of the Maralinga Tjarutja Lands (MT Lands) and the Eyre Peninsula region.

The Far North region does not include the City of Whyalla, which is in the Eyre Peninsula region.

However, given the close relationship of the city with the Far North, the framework has been developed with input from Whyalla Council.

The draft framework contains four broad maps under the headings 'Environmental and Cultural Assets', 'Economic Development', 'Population and Settlements' and 'Integrated Vision'.

The proposed framework also includes 18 written objectives for the Far North region to be achieved through land use and development activities across the region under those four broad headings.

Strategies for achieving each of these 18 objectives are also detailed in the proposed framework.

The key resulting themes of the Far North Regional Land Use Framework are:

  • Population and industry growth, with a focus on Port Augusta, Roxby Downs and Coober Pedy;
  • Building sustainable local service towns and communities, informed by strategic infrastructure and services planning;
  • Strengthening the tourism industry in the Outback and Flinders Ranges, building on the region's rich natural and cultural assets;
  • Expansion of mining and defence industries, and associated infrastructure; and
  • Sustainable and innovative approaches to securing water and energy supplies.

Once finalised, the framework will form an official part of the State Government's Planning Strategy for South Australia.

This gives the document statutory effect, and will provide formal direction to local councils and the private sector.

In particular, the framework will guide the updating of local Development Plans covering the region, which are the documents that detail local zoning and other land use policies and are used to assess the appropriateness of all development applications.

Development Plans, and proposed amendments to Development Plans, must be consistent with the Planning Strategy.

The draft framework has been released for two months of public consultation, which runs until 12 December 2008.

A copy of the document can be found online from the Planning SA website at: www.planning.sa.gov.au/go/fn-framework

Hard copies are available from each of the local councils in the regions and the Outback Areas Community Development Trust. Copies are also available on CD-ROM.

Four informal community information sessions will also be held during the two-month consultation periods.

Details of these informal meetings will be posted on the Planning SA website, and made available through local councils in the Far North as well as local media.