Draft MidCoast Rural Strategy

Strengthen and connect the network of centres People living in rural areas rely on urban centres to access jobs, services and connect socially. Urban centres are not only our major towns, but a network of village and community centres across our rural areas that provide important destinations for residents and visitors, and support rural lifestyles, productivity, connection and heritage. Long-term planning and plan-making will be informed by a common understanding of the role and function of each centre within the network, and efforts to strengthen connections to and through these centres. A key component of this will be improving the transportation networks that tie our region together. Investing in our towns, villages and transportation network not only provides a framework for greater economic growth but complements the movement of people throughout the MidCoast area to live, work and play. Figure 11. Location of MidCoast centres, from Local Strategic Planning Statement

A key consideration of the Rural Strategy has been how to support dispersed rural communities, that can experience much lower level access to employment and other services, while also providing safe and enjoyable experiences for people travelling between these communities by road, rail and by alternative means including walking, cycling and horse riding. In this regard, the NSW Government generally supports a corridor-based approach to long-term planning to balance the cost of construction and maintenance of the network with the desired outcomes of each community and region.

Draft MidCoast Rural Strategy

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Table 10. Recommended E3 Environmental Management Zone Criteria

Table 9. Recommended E2 Environmental Conservation Zone Criteria

Figure 18. NSW Planning Legislation Framework

Figure 17. Current Planning Controls, from Local Strategic Planning Statement

Figure 16. Coastal Zone of the MidCoast, Coastal Management SEPP 2018

Figure 15. Priority Drinking Water Catchments and Aquifer Catchments in the MidCoast

Figure 14. Broad Catchment Areas of the MidCoast from the Rural Waterways paper

Figure 13. Hunter Regional Plan 'Proposed Biodiversity Corridors'

Figure 12. The MidCoast LGA - Location, Infrastructure and Natural Assets

Figure 11. Location of MidCoast centres, from Local Strategic Planning Statement

Figure 10. Experiences available across the 'Green Grid' of the MidCoast

Figure 9. Destination Barrington Coast, statistics from December 2020

Figure 8. Our Growing and Changing Population, from MidCoast Housing Strategy

Figure 7: Typical mine or quarry project life cycle

Figure 6: Location of underground resources in the MidCoast

Table 8. MidCoast Tourism Destination Management Plan SWOT of Rural Tourism

Figure 5. MidCoast contribution to NSW economy by agricultural industry (ABS 2011

Table 7. MidCoast LSPS Planning Priorities relevant to the Rural Strategy

Table 6. MidCoast 2030 Goals and Actions relevant to the Rural Strategy

Table 5. NSW Government Priority Actions relevant to MidCoast Rural Strategy

Figure 4. Location Quotients and Employment Growth for MidCoast Industries

Figure 3. Strategic Actions for Priority Growth Industries in the Hunter

Figure 2. Hunter Regional Development Investment Prospectus, Local Government Areas

Table 4. Data Gaps identified in Background Reports to Rural Strategy

Table 1. Non-Urban Zones from the Standard Instrument Principal Local Environmental Plan available to use across the rural landscape of the MidCoast Local Government Area

Table 2. Strategic Centres and Centres of Local Significance, Hunter Regional Plan 2036

Table 3. Major legislation, policy and strategies influencing the Rural Strategy

Figure 1. Rural, Environmental and Waterway zoned land considered in the Rural Strategy

1 Strategic Goals and Local Planning...................................................................................64

1 Data Gaps – Challenges and Opportunities......................................................................19