Urban Sprawl Threatens Habitat and Biodiversity
November 17, 2007, 5:00 am
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Barossa,
Biodiversity,
Breaking News Locally,
Development,
Environment,
Gawler,
Habitat,
Planning,
South Australia,
Sustainability,
Urban Growth Boundary,
Urban Growth Boundary Forum Committee,
Urban Sprawl,
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Lend Lease,
Planning, sustanability, 30 Year Plan, gawler,
Gawler East
Looking north east from Eckerman Avenue we see land earmarked for urban growth boundary expansion. In the last few days we’ve heard of a Kangaroo turning up in the backyard of a resident opposite Dead Man’s Pass to the left of this photo, that Eckerman Avenue residents sometimes play host to visiting koalas, and a pair of rare diamon firetail finches has been spotted. What does this show? Well, what we residents already know, that the urban fringe can still contain significant habitat and that urban expansion is a threat to the biodiversity supported by this habitat!
30,000 extra car movements a day
October 24, 2007, 9:27 am
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Breaking News Locally,
Development,
Environment,
Gawler,
Planning,
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South Australia,
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Calton Road,
Gawler East,
Infrastructure,
Lend Lease,
Planning, sustanability, 30 Year Plan, gawler,
Traffic MovementsThose 30,000 extra car movements a day on Calton Rd are going to make getting across to that playground a little trickier!
At the forum conducted by the Local Member this Monday there were no reasonable solutions provided for the projected increase in traffic. In fact it was suggested that the majority of traffic movements in Gawler are by residents carrying out their normal daily activities such as school drop offs and pick ups, shopping, accessing services etc. An increase in population around Gawler will only add the the already dangerously high traffic pressures. Proposed by-passes would not greatly reduce the traffic pressure. Answers to why Gawler is the ideal site for urban expansion are needed, not half- baked ideas about possible solutions.
Gawler not Sprawler
October 13, 2007, 10:11 pm
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Breaking News Locally,
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Gawler,
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South Australia,
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Urban Sprawl,
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Gawler East,
gawler east quarry,
Lend Lease,
Planning, sustanability, 30 Year Plan, gawler,
rural lands protectionPlanning SA’s original public consultation document on extending the Urban Growth Boundary extolled the virtues of the idea in Gawler East because it was all about rehabilitating the quarry. However, when you look at an aerial shot of the Gawler East area – there’s an awful lot of rural land surrounding the quarry that’s been included in the proposed area (see land inside black outline)!
Gold rush on
October 4, 2007, 11:39 am
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Breaking News Locally,
Environment,
Gawler,
Planning,
Sustainability,
The Bunyip,
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Urban Sprawl,
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Gawler East,
Lend Lease,
Planning, sustanability, 30 Year Plan, gawlerWell, Cit in the Bunyip 4th of October is running down the same old lines. He has though, accurately highlighted the obvious flaws in the current rush for urban expansion.
Developers are out talking up the potential amounts of money to be made by current land holders.Plans are being floated about potential housing estates.
All of this before the Government has made a final decision. And what Cit so correctly identified is the problem that will be created in Gawler’s streets with the uncontrolled increase in traffic.
Like all gold rushes there are huge expectations built up by those who plan to profit the most.
The reality is the community wants a detailed analysis followed by consultation to determine if this urban sprawl past Gawler is in fact feasible or desirable. Not a rush to develop, with ‘catch up footy’ being all we can hope to aspire to.
Planning Institute critical of Government’s UGB changes
September 23, 2007, 11:05 am
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Gawler,
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Planning Institute Australia,
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South Australia,
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Urban Sprawl,
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Lend Lease,
Planning, sustanability, 30 Year Plan, gawler,
Gawler EastIn a strongly worded submission the Planning Institute of Australia (SA) says the State Government’s sudden proposal to extend the urban boundary ‘lacks some credibility’ and that the four week consultation process could be seen as a ‘token effort’. The PIA’s submission calls on the Government to set out a ‘publicly known set of principles and criteria’ for urban boundary review and to engage in ‘meaningful and collaborative consultation with local government’. The PIA calls the current focus on metro-fringe land releases (as the main way to deal with population growth) ’short-sighted’ and calls for ’stronger emphasis on other growth solutions, including urban redevelopment and growth in the state’s rural and regional centres’.
Go the PIA! The submission is available for download at the planning institute website
The Bunyip’s CIT starting to sound a bit repetitious
September 13, 2007, 4:21 am
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Lend Lease,
Planning, sustanability, 30 Year Plan, gawler,
Gawler EastWe see that for the second week in a row The Bunyip’s ‘CIT on the grapevine’ has run his diatribe about Gawler’s ‘emerging left-wing anti-development fraternity’. Did you not get sufficient reaction last week CIT or are you just low on material? Seriously though, in all of the debate we really haven’t heard an ‘anti-development line’. What we have heard is an almost unanimous call for issues of infrastructure to be researched, planned and resolved before the Urban Growth Boundary is extended. We shouldn’t have thought that was anything to do with being ‘left-wing’ or ‘anti-development’ but simply about putting good planning and proper ‘community building’ ahead of a quick developer profit. Also, we’re wondering when CIT is going to declare his ‘conflict of interest’. Doesn’t he stand to make quite a bit of money when (if) his land is rezoned for urban development??
Lyndoch Road Residents speak out against Sprawl
August 31, 2007, 6:45 am
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Environment,
Gawler,
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Politics,
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Lend Lease,
Planning, sustanability, 30 Year Plan, gawler,
Gawler EastWell it looks as though residents of Lyndoch Rd don’t like the idea of those tens of thousands of car movements a day past their front doors!
Developers are moving in on Gawler East!
August 24, 2007, 1:23 am
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Development,
Environment,
Gawler,
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Sustainability,
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Lend Lease,
Planning, sustanability, 30 Year Plan, gawler,
Gawler EastWe’ve heard a rumour that a major national developer has lodged caveats over land at Gawler East!
Councils rendered powerless to stop urban sprawl say Greens
August 22, 2007, 12:54 am
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Environment,
Gawler,
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Urban Sprawl,
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Lend Lease,
Planning, sustanability, 30 Year Plan, gawler,
Gawler EastMark Parnell MLC has issued a press release on the Gawler meeting – thanks Mark!:
The State Government’s plans to expand the Urban Growth Boundary will be forced on local councils against the wishes of local residents, says Mark Parnell, Greens MLC and planning lawyer.
Mark Parnell attended a public meeting last night in Gawler organised by residents concerned about the proposed changes. The meeting was told that once the Boundary has been changed, the Minister will rezone the land to allow new subdivisions and housing. Whilst councils and residents will be “consulted”, under the Development Act, there is no process to challenge or appeal against a ministerial re-zoning.
“If local communities or their councils do not want to be part of the Government’s urban sprawl policies, they will be powerless to stop it.
“Last year, Councils were asked to give up their role in assessing individual development applications so they could focus more time and energy on developing good planning rules. Now the government is pre-empting the outcomes of Council processes and imposing its own agenda of growth and sprawl.
“The ability of local communities to determine the size, amenity and environmental quality of their neighbourhoods will be sacrificed as the government succumbs to the development industry’s insatiable appetite for new land.
“Adelaide is already one of the most sprawling and inefficient cities in the world and the Government shows little intention of turning this around,” Mr Parnell said.
