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New Tweed Planning
Council's Planning Reforms Unit has primary responsibility for managing new planning policy initiatives on behalf of Tweed Council. The Unit is required to balance the complex demands of emerging State Government Planning Reforms legislation and policy directions, the need to continually update and improve Council's local strategies, plans and policies, as well as the processing of an increasing number of development driven rezoning proposals.
In order to best resource and prioritise the demands, the Unit submitted a  Report to Council's Meeting of 21 April (216kb) and 16 June 2009 (574kb), to establish a work program over the next 2-3 years. The reports also illustrate how the use of independent planning consultants can be integrated into and improve Council’s strategic planning assessment processes.
Further detail on the main projects is also provided below. Please click on the headings below to view the desired information...
In 2004, the then Planning Minister announced a major overhaul of the NSW planning system. The reforms included a focus on strategic planning for growth areas, simplification of planning controls, improvements to development assessment processes and allowing flexibility in the use of developer levies for local facilities and services.
It was mandated that all Councils in NSW undertake a review of their individual Local Environmental Plans and produce new LEPs in the format prescribed by the Standard Instruments (Local Environmental Plans) Order 2006 (amended January 2008) (The Order). Tweed Council has previously resolved, in accordance with Section 54 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, to prepare a new shire-wide Local Environmental Plan (LEP) and work on it commenced in 2006.
Two key stages of the Tweed LEP (TLEP) amendments will be delivered:
- Stage 1 comprises a 'rollover' of the existing TLEP zone provisions into the 'standard instrument order' format. This will result in some policy changes through zoning amendments as there are substantial differences between the standard instrument and the current Tweed LEP. The Planning Reforms Unit in consultation with the Department of Planning have tailored the Draft LEP 2010 to minimise the number of unavoidable amendments. In addition, there purposive policy changes comprising the inclusion of minor amendments brought about by the Council adopted Cabarita and Murwillumbah Locality Plans, and the environmental protection mapping under the adopted Tweed Vegetation Management Strategy 2004 (previously advanced through draft LEP Amendment No.21).
- Stage 2 will comprise further strategic land-use policy changes that will also be driven by Council initiated land-use strategies and locality based planning, some of which are currently in preparation. The primary purpose of this body of work is to capture and implement through a variety of means the Council’s adopted Policy position relating to the future development of the Tweed, in particular the maximum utilisation of existing urban zoned land for sustainable towns and villages, and the responsible management of the Shire’s natural assets, in order to address both community concern and expectation, and the potential impact of changes in climatic and economic conditions.
Following earlier planning investigations through the Tweed Heads Masterplan process in 2004, further Locality Plan examination, and the identification of Tweed Heads as one of the NSW Premier’s Seven Cities Program, Tweed Council agreed to collaborate with the DOP to jointly prepare a new draft LEP, DCP and Civic Improvement Plan for the Tweeds Heads area. These draft plans will be exhibited at the same time as the Tweed Stage 1 Draft LEP 2010.
Tweed Shire Council is working with the Hastings Point community to develop a Locality Plan and Development Control Plan (DCP) for the settlement.
Why prepare a locality plan?
Preparation of the Locality Plan and DCP forms part of the broader strategic objective of Council to undertake a number of planning studies for key issues and locations throughout the Shire, including a completion of more detailed planning controls for the entire Hastings Point area which is a major priority for Council in 2009/2010. This is particularly pertinent to the Hastings Point locality which has been exposed to increasing development pressures, significant development applications and court appeals over recent years.
What will the locality plan achieve?
The Locality Plan and DCP will provide a framework for managing future growth and development to ensure the area’s existing qualities are retained and that future built form is of a high quality suiting the scale and character of a locality.
The project will formulate guidelines for development within Hastings Point in the form of strategies and controls to guide the design, construction and management of the built environment using an approach that examines the settlement’s unique characteristics with the objective of establishing the desired character, type and scale of buildings in Hastings Point.
Who is preparing the Plan?
Council, through its Planning Reform Unit, has engaged an urban design consultant, Ruker Urban Design Pty Ltd, to work with Council in preparation of the Plan. Work on the draft Plan is progressing well, with some of our recent activities listed below.
How is the community being involved?
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Landowner consultation workshops:
The first of two landowner consultation workshops was held on 28 June 2009 with more than 90 people in attendance. The results of this workshop are now being considered by the consultant for inclusion in the Plan.
A second workshop will be convened in September. All land and property owners in Hastings Point will be notified of details closer to the event.
Questionnaire:
A 7-page questionnaire was circulated to all property owners in Hastings Point; a summary of the responses can be viewed by following the link in the Available Downloads section above.
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Online access:
You can make a comment via email by clicking on  planningreforms@tweed.nsw.gov.au. Please feel free to comment specifically on matters as they relate to development of the locality plan.
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Public exhibition of draft Locality Plan
Once the draft Locality Plan and DCP have been prepared, the document will go on public exhibition for comment from all interested persons.
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Make a submission:
Should you wish to make a written submission, please ensure that your submission is clearly identified as relating to preparation of the Hastings Point locality Plan and DCP, and that you comments relate specifically to issues associated with the settlement.
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Contact Council:
Should you wish to make a comment or have a query; Council officers will be available to talk to you during normal office hours.
In terms of planning for the Pottsville commercial centre, a draft DCP was prepared on behalf of Council by the consultants Architectus, and was publicly exhibited in the mid part of 2008. Following a report to the previous Council Administrators in late 2008 on the draft DCP, and given the emerging considerations of the Land and Environment Court appeal lodged against Council by Metricon for the deemed refusal of a new major supermarket complex proposal at the Seabreeze Estate, it was decided that further investigations needed to be undertaken in respect of the existing parcels of Crown Land in the area, and also to ensure that new DCP would provide greater certainty and clarification on the need to provide any new major retail centre within the existing Pottsville Village.
Council officers are near to completing these further investigations and will seek to submit a report to Council by mid 2009 for approval to publicly exhibit a revised draft DCP for the Pottsville centre. It is also aimed to have the new planning controls in place by the end of 2009.
Revise earlier locality plan and DCP investigations for Tweed Heads and Tweed Heads South and South Murwillumbah following receipt of results from Council’s Flooding and Risk Management Study.
The Tweed Heads, Tweed Heads South, and South Murwillumbah planning projects have all been impacted upon by the need to conduct a comprehensive flood risk management study due to increasing concerns for climate change.
Through various deliberations made by the previous Council Adminsistrators, it was resolved to defer certain areas of the new LEP and DCP controls for Tweed Heads, Tweed Heads South, and Murwillumbah, and to advance the controls for those areas not affected.
The new Tweed Heads Draft LEP, DCP and Civic Improvement Plan will be co-exhibited with Tweed Council’s Draft Stage 1 LEP, which is expected to commence in late April 2009.
The Murwillumbah DCP was adopted by Council in June 2008, but with a deferral of the flood affected areas of South Murwillumbah.
The results of Council’s flood risk management strategy are expected to be available by late 2009.
It is then proposed to re-visit the detailed planning controls for the deferred areas of Tweed Heads, Tweed Heads South, and South Murwillumbah
Advance investigations for new planning controls to complement the Tweed Economic Development Corporation's (TEDC's) Telecommunications Infrastructure and Masterplanned Estates projects.
Council officers have been working closely with the Tweed Economic Development Corporation to co-ordinate the production of initial consultants’ reports to inform the advancement of new planning controls which will facilitate and guide the development of more sustainable and economically viable residential and business communities, with an emphasis on identifying suitable sites and new planning controls for co-locating residential, commercial and light industrial development, supported by a network of advanced telecommunications infrastructure, through both private and public investment. Building upon the Tweed Shire as a highly desirable place to live, these new forms of development are aimed at providing existing residents and attracting new people to the area, with greater employment and business opportunities in proximity to their homes, rather than having to travel in an unsustainable manner for these opportunities in Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
The initial consultant’s reports have been presented to Tweed Councillors, and are expected to be advanced through the completion of new planning controls throughout 2009/2010.
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