New England Development Strategy

Planning Workshop Australia was engaged by the New England Alliance Councils to produce a Development Strategy and new Local Environmental Plan (LEP). The Alliance comprises the 4 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Armidale Dumaresq, Guyra, Uralla and Walcha.

PWA’s role was to first conduct a Situation Analysis which profiled the New England Sub-Region and each LGA, and the key land use planning issues. In particular, it established strategic priorities and actions for consideration in the preparation of the Development Strategy and LEP.

PWA then developed the New England Development Strategy which recommended actions for achieving the vision prepared by each LGA. The Strategy also made recommendations for achieving sustainable land use in the Sub-region, and recommends a single LEP for the New England Sub-region to simplify the planning process and help ensure that the Councils take consistent planning decisions for the Sub-region.

The Development Strategy identifies where growth and change is expected to occur, and land use planning objectives and strategies to guide this growth and change. It also identifies infrastructure requirements to support development, and informs local and state government budget processes.

The next stage in the project is for PWA to develop a draft LEP which will be completed in 2007/8.