Council adopts Planning Scheme Review

Published on 01 June 2020

Central Goldfields Shire Council adopted the Planning Scheme Review at its Council Meeting last Tuesday night (26/05).

The review of the Central Goldfields Planning Scheme involved analysing the local parts of the Planning Scheme including the Municipal Strategic Statement, local planning policies and zones, overlays, and provisions. These are the tools that are used to determine how best to use, develop and protect land within the municipality.

The Review identified a number of aspects of local policy and provisions that need changing in order to bring the Planning Scheme up to date.

Council has been addressing some of these through strategic planning projects such as the Population, Housing and Residential Settlement Strategy which was also adopted last week.

The Review will now be forwarded to the Minister for Planning, after which Council intends to commence a planning scheme amendment to implement key recommendations in the Review.

Central Goldfields Shire Chief Administrator Noel Harvey said that while a lot of work remains to be done, the Review was a significant step in addressing a backlog of strategic planning work resulting from no significant work on the planning scheme for about 20 years.

“This review will greatly assist Council in ensuring that our planning framework meets the needs of residents and businesses as efficiently as possible.

“We are making great progress in bringing the Planning Scheme up to date and now have a roadmap for future strategic planning for Central Goldfields Shire.”