Blogawler

 It is disappointing to see the Government rush to expand the urban growth boundaries around Gawler without a detailed study of the implications.

Overwhelmingly the community has asked for the process to be slowed down, for detailed studies to be undertaken and then informed decisions made.Only through this process will we be able to comprehend the massive changes this sudden increase will cause to the Gawler community. 

The Barossa Council has taken legal action on behalf of its community with regards to this expansion. It is hoped that the Gawler Council will also represent the views of the community which overwhelming has asked for all the issues related to urban expansion be assessed and decisions made on sound advice.

Currently it is being rushed with a promise of  ‘creative solutions’ that have not been detailed or may never exist. 

On Thursday the 7^th of  February a presentation was held in Gawler  covering the topics of   global warming, urban sprawl and water retention in the planning process. The main message to come out of the session was that global warming will have a dramatic effect on the way we live our lives. It also reinforced the message that we need to act now as a whole community to reduce our carbon footprint. The rationale of urban sprawl was discussed and an argument was put that cities should be built to reflect the human scale of living. This translates down to designing and building cities that are more appropriate to the way people would normally live their lives. Cities that are less dependant on cars create communities and consume less resources. Urban sprawl is opposite to this forcing people to rely on their cars, consume large amounts of resources and add to our carbon footprint that is directly contributing to global warming. It seems we see and hear the warning signs but continue on with ‘business as usual’ possibility with a slight green tinge.   

The impacts of urban expansion and a ‘Golden Grove’ swamping Gawler will be irreversible. It is important that before anything is approved we are confident that urban expansion around Gawler is the best solution for population growth in our State and in particular does not add to the rising carbon footprint that our State has declared it will reduce.