Draft City Wide Settlement Strategy 2009

Copies of Documents as Exhibitied

The City Wide Settlement Strategy (2003) was prepared by Council, based on extensive community consultation and was endorsed 2003.

The CWSS (2003) sets future direction for population growth throughout the Cessnock LGA for the next 10 years, 'captures' land for closer residential settlement beyond the 10 year timeframe, provides the basis for new planning policy for rural tourism and the foundation for sustainable planning policy which balances growth with the natural, scenic and cultural assets of the LGA.

The adopted directions contained in the CWSS aim to provide a sound basis for future land use planning by:

Redirecting future settlement growth into a more compact, sustainable settlement hierarchy recognising the finite nature of land available to the LGA for closer settlement growth and the need to develop it wisely; the need to provide for a range of lifestyle opportunities throughout the LGA, including some opportunities in rural locations; and the need to consider settlement growth opportunities beyond the lifetime of the CWSS by identifying the need to conserve identified land for future growth.
Introducing provisions to foster greater sustainable living and tourism.
Introducing provisions, including pro-active conservation-based development outcomes, for tourism in the general rural areas.
Conserving the significant environmental, resource and scenic assets of the LGA including agricultural and rural industries, wetlands, State Forests and National Parks.

Principally, the draft (revised) City Wide Settlement Strategy (2009) has:

Updated land supply / demand and the statistical data;
deleted all references to catchments – no longer relevant (new legislation);
Ensured consistency with the LHRS and s117 Direction 5.1 – Implementation of Regional Strategies;
Reviewed all adopted directions of the existing City Wide Settlement Strategy (2003) to ensure consistency with the Standard Instrument, with opportunities for urban consolidation and infrastructure planning;
Incorporated both Stage 1 (Residential and Environmental) & Stage 2 (Commercial and Industrial) into one revised document.

Draft City Wide Settlement Strategy (2009), by chapter, can be accessed through the following links: