Kudla residents demand right to subdivide as Gawler Council moves to preserve buffer zone
A council wants to keep their land as a green buffer zone but residents are fighting back, insisting they should be allowed to subdivide their properties if they want.
A narrow strip of predominantly rural land north of Adelaide has become a battleground over its zoning.
Gawler Council wants to maintain most of the districts of Kudla, Evanston Gardens and Hillier as a green buffer zone to separate metropolitan Adelaide from Gawler.
More than 150 residents have strongly disagreed, telling the council in written submissions and verbal presentations that they want to be able to subdivide their properties.
Many have presented powerful arguments about various horticultural enterprises becoming unviable, with orchards, market gardens, olive groves and vineyards being abandoned because of a lack of water.
Others have described how their large blocks have become unmanageable as they have grown older, too small for tractors to be practical and too large for ride-on mowers.
Most have urged the council to rezone the area so they have the option to split their properties into medium-sized blocks for semi-rural living.
Their opinions have been sought as part of a bid by Gawler Council to have the districts permanently zoned for rural use.
To argue its case, the council recently released reports on the area’s future by planning consultants kept confidential for several years.
Among those who sought the reports was Kudla resident Beverley Gidman, a trotting horse trainer who got elected to the council when the rezoning issue first started gathering momentum more than 10 years ago.
She was the first resident to speak at a recent committee meeting, attended by many who had sent in submissions.
Ms Gidman told the meeting residents wanted minimum block sizes of 2000sq m, which could be sold for housing if that was their choice.
“As far as a buffer zone is concerned, we don’t feel it is up to council to say your land is going to be a buffer zone,” she said.
“You can’t take land that belongs to people and say it’s a buffer zone. You need legislation to say so.”
Horticulturalist Nick Pezzantini said primary production within the area was becoming unviable because of the cost of water, with six growers going out of business in the past 12 months.
Mr Pezzantini said growers wanted the option of selling their land for housing if they needed to survive financially.
“We are not crying poverty, we are just asking how this plan is going to help us.”
Gawler Mayor Karen Redman said the community feedback would help the council with its investigations into the proposed buffer zone.
“Balancing the desire of some landowners in this area to subdivide their land with those seeking to pursue agriculture practices, and the wider community’s desire to preserve the area’s open character is challenging,” she said.
“With multiple points of view, it’s critical everyone gets a chance to have a say on this most important matter for our town. It’s too important to get wrong.”