New Ashfield Local Environmental Plan & Urban Planning Strategy
Council's town planning controls are being reviewed to help ensure Ashfield remains a sustainable and vibrant place to live, work and play. The review process involves preparing a new Local Environmental Plan (LEP), which will apply to the whole Ashfield Council area. An LEP is a town planning document which has legal status. It contains land use zones and some key development controls such as maximum permitted building heights and floor space. The LEP will control development and guide planning decisions made by Council to achieve development outcomes compatible with the preferred role and character of different areas of Ashfield Municipality. Our new LEP will replace the Ashfield Local Environmental Plan 1985.
The new LEP must be prepared consistent with a standard format introduced by the State Government but will also include specific provisions applying to Ashfield. As part of the process, other more detailed planning controls which support the LEP included in Ashfield Development Control Plan 2007 will be reviewed to ensure they are consistent with the new Plan. An Urban Planning Strategy will also be prepared to underpin the content of the new LEP. This will communicate a medium to long-term vision (25 years) and framework for a wide spectrum of town planning related issues such as housing, open space and employment. The Strategy recommendations will be reflected in the new LEP provisions.
Preparation of the new LEP, Planning Strategy, and updating of our Development Control Plan is currently underway and will be completed during 2009-2010.
Listening to our community
It's important we all work together to decide what Ashfield Municipality should look like in the near future. Council will work closely with the community, including key stakeholders and interest groups, to help guide the direction of Ashfield's new planning controls (please read our community engagement principles for more information).
If you would like to register your interest in this project please Email us at info@ashfield.nsw.gov.au fax us on (02) 9716 1911 or write to Council at PO Box 1145 Ashfield 1800. You can also telephone our Customer Service Centre on (02) 9716 1800 and ask to speak to a Planning Coordinator concerning the new Ashfield LEP and Urban Planning Strategy. Please mention "Ashfield Principal LEP" when contacting Council.
Update 3 - August 2009
Before formulating our Urban Planning Strategy we needed to get preliminary community feedback to inform the process and the direction it should take .We did this as part of the public consultation process for "Ashfield's Biggest Conversation" (visit our home page links for more details). As part of this "Conversation" we held specific town planning events (see previous "Update 2" below). These initiatives together with other extensive consultation processes carried out as part of "Ashfield's Biggest Conversation" proved to be extremely useful in eliciting useful contemporary feedback.
What we are doing with feedback. Council will be using all feedback to produce a vision and inform guiding principles for the Urban Planning Strategy. Contact us if you want to leave feedback by calling (02) 9716 1800 and ask to speak to a strategic planning officer or you can write to Council at PO Box 1145 Ashfield 1800. You can also email us at info@ashfield.nsw.gov.au Please quote "Urban Planning Strategy and LEP Project' in any correspondence.
Keeping you informed about this project. Regular updates will be posted on this website as the Urban Planning Strategy progresses.
Update 2 - April 2009
Community feedback needed to help us prepare our Urban Planning Strategy!
Before starting any detailed work on the Urban Planning Strategy we need to get the public's views on what the guiding principles should be for the Strategy. We are doing this as part of the public consultation process for "Ashfield's Biggest Conversation" (visit our home page link for more details).As part of this "conversation" we are holding the following town planning events:
Open House - Wednesday 6 May 2009 at the Centre Court of Ashfield Mall (opposite Woolworths) between 11am and 3 pm. An open forum where anybody can drop in and have their say. There will be a town planning display and town planners available to talk with you and listen to your feedback.
Group workshops We are inviting people who have already registered an interest in the project together with any other interested people to talk to us at informal group workshops. These will be held early in May 2009.
If you would like to attend a workshop contact Ms. Breda Kelly on 9716 1962
Information Panels Information about community engagement associated with this major project can be viewed here Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
What we will do with your feedback. We will use feedback to produce a vision and guiding principles for the Urban Planning Strategy. Contact us by calling (02) 9716 1800 and ask to speak to a strategic planning officer or you can write to Council at PO Box 1145 Ashfield 1800. You can also email us at info@ashfield.nsw.gov.au Please quote "Urban Planning Strategy and LEP Project' in any correspondence.
Update 1 - September 2008
The "Ashfield Urban Strategy, Analysis and Issues" has been finalised and is now available for public viewing. The Analysis explains the current town planning makeup up of the Ashfield Municipality, i.e. "where we are at". It will be used as an information /reference document during the next stages of the Project which involves development of the Urban Planning Strategy.
Click on the following links to view the Analysis Parts1-3 / Parts 4-5 / Parts 6-8
Draft Inner west Subregional Strategy
In 2007, the State Government released the Draft Inner West Subregional Strategy. Subregional strategies have been developed to implement the Metropolitan Strategy at the local level. The State Government's aim for the subregional strategies is for them to act as a broad framework for the long term development of an area, guiding government investment and linking local and State planning issues. The Inner West Subregion includes the local government areas of Ashfield, Burwood, Canada Bay, Leichhardt and Strathfield. Public exhibition of the draft Strategy recently concluded.
Council has considered the implications of the draft Inner West Subregional Strategy on the Ashfield Local Government Area. Council officers prepared a submission on the draft Strategy, highlighting that Ashfield Council can meet the specified housing and employment targets within the nominated timeframes. This has been demonstrated as part of Council's response to the housing "Metrix" dwelling forecasting tool developed by the Department of Planning and will be further substantiated as part of Council's Urban Planning Strategy process.