Minister defers development proposal

12 July 2011

Queanbeyan City Council has been advised by the NSW Planning Minister, Brad Hazzard, that he will postpone his decision on the draft Queanbeyan Local Environmental Plan (South Tralee) 2010.

 

Apparently the Minister advised Council that the determination of the plan would be postponed to allow a report by the National Airports Safeguarding Advisory Group principles for land use planning and the Joint Study into Additional Aviation Capacity for the Sydney Region to be completed. The council’s media release is here.

 

This matter seems unusual, in that it has enjoyed support of both the local council, the former local Labor MP and the incumbent local Nationals MP, but it still has not (yet) received state government support.

 

In a more general sense, this matter raises concerns because the Commonwealth is seeking, via its National Airports Safeguarding Advisory Group, to impose more land use controls in the general vicinity of airports. This may see another layer of land use regulation preventing the more intense development of sites – on top of the existing Australian Noise Exposure Forecast (ANEF) system.