1. Introduction

1.1 The need for a Rural Lands Strategy

The Clarence Valley Rural Lands Strategy (the Strategy) will investigate the long-term strategic direction for rural areas in the Clarence Valley and will help inform future planning decisions and policies for rural lands and supporting infrastructure.

According to Council’s LSPS, the Clarence Valley has approximately 2,230 registered farms providing $493 million annual gross regional product. Rural areas also enable an enviable Clarence Valley lifestyle through recreation, rural housing, tourism, open space, natural resources, biodiversity, heritage and landscape conservation, all whilst accommodating supporting infrastructure. These rural areas account for 75% of the total land in the Clarence Valley Local Government Area (LGA) or just over 780,000 hectares. Protecting the significant features and assets found in these areas is important for ongoing environmental, social, economic, cultural and wellbeing outcomes.

The Clarence Valley population is expected to grow from 52,000 to 60,000 over the next 20 years. With this change in population (as well as a range of other factors), there is also expected to be change in how and what agricultural products are produced. Ensuring adequate agricultural infrastructure and that land use policy supports existing and future rural industries is a key objective of this Strategy.

The need for the Strategy is also highlighted by the age of Council’s existing Clarence Valley Settlement Strategy – which was completed in 1999 as a 20 year strategy and is now in need of renewal. The new Rural Lands Strategy will build on its predecessor, but seek to be a more responsive document, including connection to a broader and more current range of rural issues, such as emerging industries and environmental protection - both in the coastal and hinterland rural lands of the Clarence Valley. The new Strategy will also provide Council with the opportunity to be proactive in communicating their strategic intent for rural lands.

A further driver for the project is outlined through the Clarence Valley Local Strategic Planning Statement 2020 (LSPS) which highlights the value of rural land to the Clarence Valley community, as well as recognising the strategic importance of it to the Northern Rivers sub-region. Action 1.1 of Planning Priority 1 identified the direction to “Prepare a Local Growth Management Strategy for the Clarence Valley”. An aspect or accompaniment to this is identifying future planning for rural areas –the Rural Lands Strategy.

The development of the Strategy is further informed by LSPS Planning Priority 13 – to “Protect agricultural land and increase opportunities for access to locally produced fresh food and economic growth”. This also supports the North Coast Regional Plan 2036 (NCRP 2036) Direction 11 that looks to “Protect and enhance productive agricultural lands”.

1.2 Report purpose

This Background Paper (the Paper) provides details and insights to the proposed directions and overarching framework of the Rural Lands Strategy. It provides a snapshot of existing rural lands, the type and location of uses on these rural lands, as well as the drivers, desired outcomes, issues, options and recommendations for the future.

The Paper provides the background to the framework for managing growth, change and development for rural land in the Clarence Valley to the year 2041. While this is a 20-year plan, the Strategy also considers Clarence Valley’s potential growth beyond 2041 to ensure current planning decisions do not compromise longer-term future needs.

1.3 Strategy inclusions

The Background Paper and Rural Land Strategy study area encompasses Clarence Valley’s rural land. The term “rural land” for the purposes of the Strategy means all land that is currently zoned under the Clarence Valley Local Environmental Plan 2011 (CVLEP 2011) as follows:

o RU1 Primary Production o RU2 Rural Landscape o RU3 Forestry o C2 Environmental Conservation o C3 Environmental Management

Rural land in this strategy does not include urban land or land zoned C1 National Park & Nature Reserves or the suite of waterways zones.

The extent of land to which the Background Paper and Strategy will apply is outlined in Figure 1 overleaf.

1.4 Our approach

Developing the Background Paper and Strategy has involved engagement with a wide variety of stakeholders including State agencies, industry bodies, not-for-profits engaged with rural industries / landholders, Council’s Rural Lands Strategy Reference Group, along with landholders and others who took part in an online survey.

The purpose of engagement at the early stage of the project is to gather ideas, feedback and concerns relating to issues, constraints and opportunities of both the present and future of rural land. As mentioned above, the process also involved a project survey which collected information regarding land holdings and the future of rural land activities in the Clarence Valley.

The following flow chart provides an overview of the process that has been used in developing this Paper and the Strategy. The documents are intended to be placed on public exhibition to further assist Council to set a platform for addressing short, medium and long term issues and to mitigate future issues from arising.

Figure 1 - INSERT RURAL LAND MAP