Economic Development

UPPER SPENCER GULF - OPEN FOR BUSINESS

The Upper Spencer Gulf Common Purpose Group is committed to economic development and growth in the region. Support for industries within the Upper Spencer Gulf and new business looking to set up in our region is vital for a sustainable growing economy.

With strong links to Local Government, Regional Development Australia, the Global Maintenance Upper Spencer Gulf industry cluster and State Governmentt the Common Purpose Group can help link potential businesses with a range of local support.

The Upper Spencer Gulf Common Purpose Group is also working to strengthen the links between industry, education and research to ensure future skills and technical capacity can be met in the region.

IMPROVING DEVELOPMENT PLANNING IN THE UPPER SPENCER GULF

Model Planning Provisions

The “Upper Spencer Gulf Model Planning Provisions” report was developed under the Commonwealth funded Regional Sustainability Planning project. It recommends actions to improve and streamline development planning in the region to achieve a more coordinated and efficient approach to environmental, social and economic sustainability within the region.

Prepared by Dr Donna Ferretti and Associates, the report notes the three Upper Spencer Gulf Councils current sit across three different Planning Strategy volumes. This hampers ability of the three regional centres to take a more strategic view of land use across the USG region and to implement consistent planning policy for insertion into local Development Plans which recognise and optimise these commonalities.

While Development Plan policy across the three USG cities is reasonably consistent, there is some capacity to both enhance consistency and include more up-to-date planning policy in these Development Plans. The Whyalla Development Plan has been converted to the South Australian Planning Policy Library (SAPPL) format but the Port Pirie and Port Augusta Development Plans have not.

The report particularly recognises the potential for reform of the South Australian planning system and the opportunity for the Upper Spencer Gulf region to engage with this in a pro-active manner as it applies to the strategic and policy components of the current planning system; namely:

the South Australian Planning Strategy
the South Australian Planning Policy Library (SAPPL)
Development Plans for Whyalla, Port Augusta and Port Pirie.

Of particular focus in the report is the Planning Review’s Expert Panel recommendation to create a network of regional planning boards across the state. This integrated approach may not only help deliver better planning outcomes, but also improve better coordination and efficiencies in relation to environmental and natural resource management, economic development and infrastructure provision.

Recommendations from the report focus around improving the regional approach to planning and improving planning practices.

a) Regional Approach

It is recommended the Upper Spencer Gulf Councils work with the South Australian Government to:

Develop a regional approach to planning which focuses on a single USG region and a single Region Plan as a volume of the South Australian Planning Strategy. This will require:

amending existing State Government administrative boundaries to create a single USG region;

creating a USG Regional Planning Board to represent the interests of the region and charged with the responsibility of developing the USG Region Plan;

developing a USG Region Plan as a volume of the Planning Strategy;

developing appropriate planning policy for inclusion in local Development Plans (or a single USG Development Plan covering the entire region);

appointing a USG Regional Development Assessment Panel to assess development proposals across the region.

Formalise arrangements for the ongoing development and implementation of planning policy that:

encourages and enables adaptation to climate change and mitigation of identified hazards

encourages and enables renewable energy development in designated industry zones

designates and conserves areas/corridors for the development of critical infrastructure supporting the USG’s economic transition;

prioritises the protection of areas of high environmental and biodiversity value.

Promote and encourage greater collaboration with NRM Boards and the Coast Protection Board to undertake mapping of areas particularly susceptible to sea level rise and important conservation areas that should be earmarked for protection.

b) Improved Planning Practices

It is recommended the Upper Spencer Gulf Councils work with the South Australian Government to:

Establish formal mechanisms to increase sharing of planning resources and collaboration amongst local government planners across the USG region. Such mechanisms should include:

provision for collaboration with NRM practitioners to enhance understanding of the specific needs of ecosystem services in the region;

provision to enable the USG cities to undertake a regional Section 30 and Strategic Directions Report process;

provision to enable regular rotation of USG planners between development assessment and policy development roles.

Establish regular capacity-building and professional development sessions for USG planners, Development Assessment Panel members and related professionals to:

ensure the consistent interpretation and application of planning policy and strategic land use planning objectives across the USG;

exercise appropriate levels of flexibility in the assessment of development to promote the development of renewable energy technologies;

recognise the spatial significance of particular sites and locations, particularly on the coast, in the assessment of development;

improve the application of water sensitive urban design, energy efficiency, flood mitigation and better land management practices in responding to climate change impacts across the region.

Work collaboratively with State government planners to ensure the currency and suitability of planning policy for the USG region.

The final report for this project is available here.

Upper Spencer Gulf Planning and Development Review

Led by the City of Whyalla and funded through the Local Government Association Research and Development scheme, planning consultants MasterPlan were engaged to investigate opportunities for the Upper Spencer Gulf (USG) Cities to ‘pilot’ a regional service-sharing arrangement to achieve consistent planning outcomes across Port Pirie, Whyalla and Port Augusta each of which has a strong heavy industry and advanced manufacturing economic base.

The project focussed on planning assessment services for industrial, commercial and other non-residential development within the region with the aim to support the economy of the region and enable the prompt assessment and approval of quality development projects

The report provides clear opportunities for stronger sharing of planning resources across the Upper Spencer Gulf region. A number of resource-sharing options are presented, and rated on cost, resource level and priority. Relative effectiveness of individual recommendations from the study project will be variable, largely dependent on resources and degree of commitment within each Council.

The final report for this project is available here.