How will the plan
improve region
The Editor
Dear Sir,
Over the past few months I must have read dozens of letters in the Southern Highland News, both for and against, the Wingecarribee Our Future Strategic Plan Stage 2.
Many of the letters have been written in a subjective vein referring to "no growth" "slow growth" "Managed Growth" etc but few have factually addressed any of the various sections or clauses.
As an operator of a guest house in Moss Vale I am particularly interested in the half page referring to Tourism, and what, if anything, this document will do to increase the image of the Southern Highlands.
Looking at the tourism section.
One the face of it Clause 3 seems to be a simple house keeping clause because the 1988 plan made no reference to guest houses.
As the Building Code of Australia also makes no reference to guest houses it is necessary for council to legalise the point, hence guest houses will come under the same rulings as motels.
Clauses 4 and 5 however make clause 3 redundant.
Whereas in the 1988 plan motel/guest houses were allowed on land zoned 2a and 2b (ie residential) the new plan prohibits this and places all new motels/guests houses in land zoned 3a and 3b (ie business zones or shopping centres).
Most other towns outside the Southern Highlands have motels etc on the outskirts, -not in middle of the shopping area.
How could this change the face of the Southern Highlands as we know it?
Over the past few years there have been a number of large older homes converted to boutique guest houses (Oaks Court, Fitzroy Inn, Berrima Guest House and our own Hereonswood House) most of which are built on 2b land and such action has saved a number of old, near derelict houses and put them to good use.
There are still many large and suitable homes that could be used for guest houses but the new plan prevents this.
Many of these beautiful old homes are too large for the average modern family.
With the limit on building new properties, I foresee a situation where these old homes are converted into flats, boarding houses etc and the land surrounding them sub-divided, thus changing the character of the Southern Highlands for ever and achieving exactly what the document sets out to prevent.
A similar argument exists for clause 6 as for clauses 4 and 5.
Who builds motels in the business sector of quaint little villages thus detaching from their uniqueness?
Can one imagine a new motel in the business centre of Burrawang, Bundanoon, Robertson or Wingello.
Whether we want it or not there will be a demand for new housing in the Southern Highlands.
By limiting the spread of the boundaries of the towns and villages the demand will force the infill these.
All land currently zoned 2a and 2b (ie any residential lots) can have cluster housing built on them.
Many of our older style cottages, which go to make up the overall uniqueness of the southern Highlands, are located on larger than normal blocks of land.
A weekend with the bulldozer will soon see the end of the cottage and six months later, eight new cluster homes in its place.
Not the image of the Southern Highlands.
Such a dramatic change to the character of the area will see the demise of tourism.
We are told, however, it is tourism that will pick up the slack in employment.
How can this be?
There will be no new motels/guest houses/resorts because nobody will knock down shops and build them on expensive business land and why build them anyway because people are going to stop coming here.
Perhaps "my view of the future" may be a little extreme, but there are insufficient checks and balances in the WOF plant to prevent such a scenario.
Further, to suggest a release of a 400 housing estate somewhere in Moss Vale is not a plan for the future - it is a Claytons plan (a plan when you don't have a plan).
The strategic plan is fort he next 20 years, it is most important that we get it right now and make sure all the I's are dotted and the t's crossed.
Nothing should be left to misinterpretation.
My suggestion is we seriously designate land suitable for tourism accommodation, preferably on land on the outskirts and not spoiling the towns and villages.
We let the towns and villages grow slowly under "controlled or managed" growth, releasing smaller estates one at a time such that they blend in with the environment, but then I am no expert town planner.
I would suggest that most of the people currently living in the beautiful Southern Highlands are "Johnny Come Latelys".
We would have all liked to be fourth or fifth generation Southern Highlands but circumstances of birth prevented that.
However now that we are here we want to make sure that when we leave (either by car or in a box) that what we leave behind will be at least as good if not better, (if that possible) than when we came.
Yours faithfully,
Brian Davis
Heronswood House B and B.
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