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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 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 RU2 Rural Landscape E2 Environmental Conservation
RU3 Forestry
RU4 Primary Production Small Lot E3 Environmental Management E4 Environmental Living
RU5 Village
RU6 Transition W1 Natural Waterways
W2 Recreational Waterways W3 Working Waterways
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.
