Council's rezoning plan gains support

THE NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure has indicated its support for Lismore City Council's Planning Proposal seeking rezoning of the Crawford Land.

LISMORE City Council submitted a Planning Proposal to the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure in September, seeking rezoning of the Crawford Land, located off Military Road in East Lismore, to enable future urban development.

The Department has responded with a positive 'gateway' determination, indicating its support for the proposal to proceed subject to further technical studies being undertaken.

The developers, Southern Cross University through their commercial arm, Norsearch Ltd, now have a 12 month timeframe in which to complete a range of investigations including: a traffic assessment, a study of localised flood impacts, a cultural heritage study, a retail analysis, a contaminated sites assessment, and a flora and fauna assessment.

Lismore City Council Manager of Integrated Planning, Steve Denize, said the 'gateway' determination signalled another important milestone for the project.

"The next step from here is that Norsearch Ltd will conduct the technical studies to determine the suitability of the land for urban development, as required by the 'gateway' determination," Mr Denize said.

"Once the technical studies are completed, they will inform the preparation of a 'Draft Rezoning Plan'.

"The Plan will show what type of development will go where on the site (eg. commercial, residential), as well as the location of areas set aside for environmental protection and community recreation."

The 'Planning Proposal for Rezoning', which includes the 'Draft Rezoning Plan' and all the supporting technical studies, will be exhibited for public comment, before it goes back to the NSW Department of Planning & Infrastructure for final approval.

The public exhibition period will be in early 2012. The local East Lismore community and key stakeholder groups, as well as the broader community, will be notified of the dates, time and location of the exhibition, closer to the time.

"Council is aware that this is a potentially significant urban development for Lismore which is why we will continue to provide the community with regular updates at each new stage of the project," Mr Denize said.

Originally published as Council's rezoning plan gains support