BOWRAL'S business heavyweights have new ammunition in their fight against Wingecarribee Shire Council's draft strategic plan, with the findings of a privately commissioned town planner presented yesterday.
More than 60 people attended the Bowral Chamber of Commerce lunch meeting, where Sydney-based town planner Professor Sonya Lyneham revealed she believed the Wingecarribee Our Future proposal had been drafted without necessary environmental and social impact studies being conducted.
"Essentially the EPA [Environmental Protection Authority] requires that if you are putting together a new plan you are to do an environmental study and you are to consult with the director general of the Department of Environment and Planning," she told the meeting.
"If we take Wingecarribee Shire Council to say what they mean and mean what they say, mainly that they are preparing a new plan, then this is the proper process."
Ms Lyneham said revision of the shire's plan was timely, however, future development strategies should allow for sustainable growth in the district.
She referred to a recent UK study which defined sustainability as balancing the maintenance of stable economic growth and employment, social desirability and equity, and environmental and water quality protection.
"You can only have projections realised if people actually can be physically accommodated with a reasonable level of choice," she said.
"Even looking at Council's low projection, assuming every bit of land was used up that was available for that purpose, they are going to be significantly short of land and houses.
"The consequences are significant."
Affiliated with the private company Planning Workshop Australia and a former chairman of the Australian Heritage Commission, Ms Lyneham suggested Council begin the planning process again to avoid a blowout in future expenditure that would result from the current proposal.
"What we will submit and request Council do is invest back some of the surplus generated by the ratepayers of this community back into the community, in helping it make informed long-term decisions," she said.
"Our plead is, put some of that investment back where it should be, to make decisions that are going to be in the interest of everybody.
"Now the burden for the future generation is going to be very much determined by how you plan today."
Held at the Manning Hotel in Bowral, guests at the lunch meeting included Council's general manager David McGowan, Cr Rick Mandelson, Bowral Chamber of Commerce patrons as well as executive members of the Wingecarribee Committee for Managed Growth, Laurie Stewart, Tony Springett and Nick Campbell-Jones.
The option of State Government intervention was not ruled out at the meeting, with Ms Lyneham informing the Chamber it could refer the matter to the director general of the Department of Environment and Planning requesting that a local environment study be undertaken.
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