Have your say on the future of land use and character of the Blue Mountains

Council is developing a 20-year planning vision for land use in the Blue Mountains and is encouraging the community to get involved.

The Local Planning Statement – a new document that all councils in NSW are required by the NSW Government to prepare – will capture community aspirations for future land use and character of the City.

Mayor, Cr Mark Greenhill, said: “The new Local Planning Statement will be used to guide future decisions on land use planning for the Blue Mountains. It will be an important document that will serve as a bridge between Council’s LEP 2015, which is the legal planning document, our long term Community Strategic Plan, and the NSW Government planning framework for Western Sydney.

“The Statement provides the opportunity to set priorities for how we use land for housing, employment, education, culture and tourism, as well as identify actions to address the challenges facing the Blue Mountains over the next 20 years,” the Mayor said.

It will summarise the unique values and characteristics of the Blue Mountains, which are unlike any other local government area in NSW. Our Local Planning Statement will support the fundamental aspects of our current LEP, including the preservation of the character of our villages, and the protection of water quality and significant vegetation.

“By setting clear directions and priorities for the future, the Local Planning Statement will also be a tool to seek support from the NSW Government for projects and funding for the City.

“Most importantly, this is in the context of the Blue Mountains as a City in a World Heritage Area and the long standing planning principles that balance development with and the need to maintain the unique characteristics of the individual towns and villages in the Mountains.”

Council will be developing the Local Planning Statement over the next 12-18 months. Community input will be invited throughout this process to inform and refine the Statement as it is developed.

The first opportunity to be involved is via an online mapping tool, Social Pinpoint. This will be running through October and November. 

Council is interested to know:

A second round of consultation will be conducted early next year, which will include community workshops.

Go to bluemountainshaveyoursay.com.au/localplanningstatement and share your thoughts about local planning for our City.  The online mapping tool will be available until the end of November.