Blogawler


Have your say

Write to the Development Panel!  Have your say about Gawler East traffic and infrastructure concerns.  It may be your last chance to be heard!

Once was Green

Once was Green



Community Voice

Opportunity for community to have a say.

On Monday night, the 22nd of June, a community meeting was convened at the Gawler Arms by members of the Urban Growth Boundary Community Forum Committee to look at the implications surrounding the recently released DPA for the proposed Gawler East Development.

The meeting was attended by about 80 people, including representatives from both major political parties.

Meeting Convenor Mr Paul Koch, said that the night gave local residents the opportunity to look in more detail about the implications of the development.
“Views on the night ranged from concerns about traffic, the social impact, increased demand on already stretched services through to the appropriateness of the site for a major development and whether the community has an effective voice in the consultation process.”

People at the meeting were urged to put in a submission to the State Government by the 16th of July as this will be last formal opportunity they have to influence the decision. People should indicate if they wish to speak at the public hearing on the 30th of July.

Mr Koch also said that “ people were encouraged to talk to their friends and neighbours to look closely at the issues, as the development will have a major impact on all people living in Gawler, not just the people living in Gawler East and Gawler South“.

Writing a submission

It is best to write your own, but  a form letter is available with space in the centre of the page for you to use.  Click  base form letter and save, then remove the instruction and then type in your concerns and save it.  Any further questions please e-mail us at blogawler@gmail.com.

Base form letter provides a pdf version of the framework for a submission for you to write on – open it up and print it off.

If you want to speak at the public hearing on 30th July you must indicate this in your submission.

Sending your submission.

Submissions need to arrive at the DPA Committee by 16th July.

You can post them to

Presiding Member, Development Policy Advisory Committee
C/- Department of Planning and Local Government
Level 3, 136 North Tce, Adelaide SA 5000

email them to      dpac@saugov.sa.gov.au

or place them in a collection box located at Crosby’s of Gawler, Gawler Cinemas, Willaston Bookshop and the Cheek Avenue Super Deli.  Submissions will be collected and ‘bulk mailed’ off.

If you need any help with your submissions you can contact Helen Wilmore on            85 223019 who will be able to give you a hand.



Community voice on Gawler’s future
June 11, 2009, 6:23 am
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , ,

The recent release of the Gawler East Development Plan Amendment (DPA) has finally given the community the opportunity to look closely at the proposal.

The DPA gives a very broad overview of the types of development that would be permitted in different distinct zones across the site.

To help the community start to get an understanding of the DPA and the approval process, the Gawler Town Council held a very successful information session on the 10th of June. This session outlined the background and policy content within the DPA. Throughout the session it was reinforced that the community has an opportunity to make a submission to the State Government by the 16th of July. When making a submission you can also request to make a presentation on the 30th July.

Unfortunately, the session did not give the opportunity for the community to ‘drill down’ and look at the implications of different policies outlined in the DPA. In effect, what will be the on-the-ground impacts on traffic, access to services, environmental impacts etc. To help the community come to grips with the actual implication of the DPA on the future of Gawler, a community forum has been organised for the 22nd of June.
It will be held at the Gawler Arms, starting at 7.30. It will take the form of a workshop where people can break up into groups and discuss the issues they are concerned about. There will also be people with particular expertise available who will be able to provide some interpretation.
It is hoped that information gained from the workshop will help to frame a submission to the Government that reflects your concerns.

The approval process for the DPA has now moved into a ‘political phase’. It is important that the Government receives a clear message about the concerns residents have around this proposed development and the out comes it will have on the town of Gawler.

Other opportunities you will have to express your concerns include a petition now circulating in the community. It essentially asks the Government to delay making a decision on approval until community issues are fully addressed. Also a ‘form letter’ will be delivered to each house in Gawler. This will help you to record and make your concerns heard about the development.

We encourage all members of the community to take the opportunity to look closely at the issues surrounding the DPA and the impacts they will have on the town of Gawler.

The policies outlined in the DPA will have long-term and irreversible impacts for Gawler. It is important to have your voice heard by the Government before the 16th of July.

If your require further information contact
Scott Fraser on 85233 220 or Paul Koch on 85232859.



KNOCK-ON EFFECT.

KNOCK-ON  EFFECT.

 

The Delfin publicity machine has been working overtime recently, producing glossy plans and rolling out the promises.

 

The devil is always in the detail and one of  the first of these is the effect on the residents of Sunnydale Avenue. It was pronounced recently that their street would become part of the gleaming new collector road between Lyndoch  and Calton Roads  and into the new development.

 

The residents held a meeting recently where they voiced their outrage about this rural road being turned into a major carriageway, whisking cars and trucks through and around Gawler.

The promise of new kerbs and gutters are no consolation for turning their lives upside down with increased noise, fumes and safety concerns.

 

Be under no illusions that urban growth around Gawler, with the potential of tripling the population, will have major negative effects on the whole town. Sunnydale Avenue is one of the first examples.

 

This is the time to demand that the Government show leadership and invest resources into detailed investigations and modelling of the effects of urban growth on the town.

 

It  would also be an act of openness and true community consultation if the Government and the developer released studies as they were completed, not just at the last minute which creates a flood of information. By doing this it would create an environment for open, ongoing discussion and dialogue instead of the situation we now have leading to community uncertainty and unrest.

 

Only after all investigations have been completed and discussed will we be anywhere near understanding the long-term effects and be able decide if it is feasible and/or reasonable to approve development plans.

 

The Government should stand up  for the community and not be held to the timetables of developers and their commercial interests.

 

 

 



Understand the issues and then allocate funds.

 

 

The Urban Growth Community Forum Committee has written to the Minister for Urban Development, Mr Holloway regarding the approval process for the Gawler East development site.

 

The committee is calling on the Minister to ensure the approval process is not rushed and to guarantee the finances of any infrastructure needs. In particular they are calling on the Minister to conduct an Environmental Impact Study of the development on the site as this would address many of the concerns expressed by the community.

 

The committee has voiced its concerns regarding the speed at which the proposal is being pushed. Given the timetable outlined by the developer it appears decisions will be made well before critical investigation have been completed and then assessed.

 

Also, given the current economic turmoil, the committee is requesting that all infrastructure requirements be costed and budgeted for before approval is given.

In particular, given the already over crowded roads, that any SE bypass be allocated funds well before any actual work on the site begins. This will ensure any bypass will be built and not lost in State Government cutbacks to balance stretched budgets.

 

The committee is very concerned about the approval process for the Gawler East site. It feels good process is being pushed to one side at grave cost to the residents of Gawler and surrounding areas.

 



Opposition talks about Urban Growth
July 29, 2008, 11:09 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , ,

Press release.

 

David Ridgway visits Gawler to talk about urban growth.

 

Mr David Ridgway, Opposition spokesperson on Urban Development and Planning visited Gawler last week after an invitation from the Urban Growth Boundary Community Forum Committee.

 

A spokesperson for the Committee said that members outlined community concerns in the Barossa, Gawler and Playford areas about proposed urban growth.  Issues discussed included the lack of appropriate consultation before decisions were announced, lack of information about the potential impact of urban expansion on local communities and concern that the timing of decisions being directed by political expediency rather than based on solid planning.

 

Issues noted of particular relevance to the proposed developments at Gawler East and Concordia involving Gawler and Barossa councils included uncertainities about water, power and sewerage infrastructure, issues of traffic build up affecting the Gawler area, environmental and heritage issues, impacts on nearby river ecosystems and the need to protect quality rural land from urban development.

 

Mr Ridgway outlined the directions that would guide Opposition policies on the issues and particularly stressed concerns about lack of transport and other infrastructure and protection of productive rural land. 

 

Spokesperson for Urban Growth Boundary Community Forum, Mr Paul Koch said that the Committee appreciated Mr Ridgeway’s involvement and would continue to press all political parties in the State to understand of the depth of concern there is in the local community and to respond with policies that protected community interests.

 

 

 



Run for the hills here comes the sprawl!A taste of things to come as the rooftops of Hewett are glimpsed across the North Para river from rural Concordia. The State Government claims Concordia does ‘not include any environmentally sensitive land or land used for high value agriculture’ (Planning SA press release) but its proximity to remnant vegetation at Whitelaw Creek and Clonlea, the flood-prone Gawler system, and the verdant fields at present might suggest otherwise. Also, just because it doesn’t produce megabucks doesn’t mean its not valued by the locals for its beauty as a green belt!