Draft MidCoast 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

Rural

Environmental

Waterways

RU1 Primary Production

E1 National Parks and Nature Reserves

W1 Natural Waterways

RU2 Rural Landscape

E2 Environmental Conservation

W2 Recreational Waterways

RU3 Forestry

E3 Environmental Management

W3 Working Waterways

RU4 Primary Production Small Lot

E4 Environmental Living

RU5 Village RU6 Transition Critical to the strategy though, were other fundamental questions – Who were our stakeholders? How could we engage with them to prepare a Rural Strategy that would inform not only the new MidCoast Local Environmental Plan and Development Control Plan, but provide the vision and tools to facilitate improvements to our planning tools in the foreseeable future? To address this, the Strategy program included workshops and interviews with various representatives across Council; public agencies including the Department of Planning, Infrastructure & Environment, Department of Primary Industries, NSW Roads & Maritime Services, Department of Fisheries, Local Land Services, and the Office of Water; land owners, residents and visitors.

3.3

Relationship to other strategies and programs

The Rural Strategy has been in development since 2017 and must be considered within the context of other strategy and review programs undertaken within the MidCoast, by Council and other agencies, since amalgamation. For example, during preparation of the Rural Strategy, the NSW Government commissioned preparation of State-wide Regional Economic Development Strategies (REDS). The findings and recommendations of the NSW Government’s MidCoast REDS in conjunction with the Goals and Directions of the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment’s Hunter Regional Plan 2036, have strongly influenced the preparation of the Rural Strategy. Within the context of national, state and regional strategies, the team also had to determine Council’s scope to create or influence change across the rural landscape. In doing so we were looking to provide solutions to existing challenges through effective land use planning and seeking opportunities to leverage the current trends of regionalisation for our communities and industries.

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