Regional Land Use Strategies
Summary
Tasmania is divided into three regional planning areas: Southern, Northern and Cradle Coast. Each region has a Regional Land Use Strategy (RLUS) setting out the long-term strategic land-use planning directions.
Regional Land Use Strategies are very important for setting limits to growth. They help stop inappropriate developments and planning scheme amendments like Cambria Green on Tasmania’s’ east coast.
There is a concern that that the Regional Land Use Strategies to date have been developed by private consultants via non-independent ad hoc processes that have not properly considered ecological, social and economic information.
Tasmania’s three Regional Planning Regions
Tasmania is divided into three regional planning areas: Southern, Northern and Cradle Coast. Each region has a Regional Land Use Strategy (RLUS) setting out the long-term strategic land-use planning directions.
The Regional Land Use Strategies help guide and inform local planning within each region. For example, they play a crucial role in the preparation of draft Local Provisions Schedules (i.e. local planning schemes), Structure Plans for local towns and amendments for the rezoning of land. See Figure 1.
Regional Land Use Strategies are very important for setting limits to growth. They help stop inappropriate developments and planning scheme amendments like Cambria Green on Tasmania’s’ east coast.
Figure 1 – The hierarchy of Tasmania’s planning instruments. Graphic provided with thanks to the State Planning Office.
Background
Process for Reviewing the Regional Land Use Strategies is outdated
During 2023, the Tasmanian Government started a process to create a new framework ready for a review of the three Regional Land Use Strategies. The new framework was supposed to govern the scope, purpose, preparation, assessment, declaration, amendment and review of Regional Land Use Strategies. This Review has been put on hold and now the Government appears to be making up the review process as they go along.
PMAT’s position is that the Regional Land Use Strategies and Structure Plans should be created through an independent transparent Tasmanian Planning Commission process.
For more information on Regional Planning from the State Planning Office see here.
Tasmanian Planning Policies and State Policies not created
The Regional land Use Strategies are supposed to be informed by State Policies as well as the new Tasmanian Planning Policies.
The Draft Tasmanian Planning Policies have been sitting on the Planning Minister’s desk since June 2024. The Tasmanian Government now appears to be deliberately creating the regional land strategies without any detailed policy setting.
PMAT has been calling for the creation of a suite of State Policies since we first formed in 2016 – as this Government said they would during the 2014 State election. Instead, the Tasmanian Government created the new Tasmanian Planning Policies but has now failed to finalise them as well.
As the recently retired Director of the State Planning Office stated in today’s The Mercury, we will ‘at worse make a mess of this beautiful state‘. It’s time to invest in our planning system as ‘a failure to plan is a plan to fail‘.
Existing Regional Strategies are all outdated
The three regional strategies were first declared by the Minister on 27 October 2011. They are required to be reviewed every five years. They are all outdated:
Have Your Say on the review of the Southern Tasmanian Regional Land Use Strategy (STRLUS)
Regardless of the above issues, PMAT is encouraging the community to engage in the review of the Southern Tasmanian Regional Land Use Strategy.
The first step in updating the Southern Tasmanian Regional Land Use Strategy has been the preparation of The Southern Tasmania Regional Land Use Strategy State of Play Report. It apparently provides key data on population trends, economic shifts, and environmental changes, while highlighting what makes the region unique.
The community has been invited to have their say on the future of land use in Southern Tasmania –in particular the update team are seeking feedback on the role of land use planning in:
- managing climate change
- landscape and natural values
- population growth and change
- housing, placemaking and social infrastructure
- movement and connectivity
- jobs and economy
Comments close: 11.59 pm Wednesday 18 December 2024
Consultation documents: www.shapingtasmania.com.au
Review process: Regional Land Use Strategies Review
Related News & Media
The Mercury: If we don’t address resource and planning policies now, we risk making a mess of this beautiful state
As the maxim goes “a failure to plan is a plan to fail,” writes Brian Risby.
PMAT Media Release: Another Planning Review – The Best Chance to Improve Land Use Planning in Tasmania
The Tasmanian Government is currently consulting over the scope of issues to be considered in the statutory review of Tasmania’s State Planning Provisions (SPPs).
Recent Developments in Land Use Planning
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