HAWKESBURY Council general manager Peter Conroy has admitted the Kurmond-Kurrajong Investigation Area survey has been put on hold so Council staff can focus on re-writing the Residential Land Strategy.
The KKIA is meant to to identify areas in Kurmond and Kurrajong for sub-division, while also preserving the character of the hillside villages.
It has been a drawn out process, however, with the investigation going since February, 2015, and now has been put on hold until at least the Residential Land Strategy, which is currently being re-written, has been finished.
Former Hawkesbury Mayor Kim Ford told the Gazette the KKIA, in his opinion, was simply a tool to delay development in the area.
“I’ve always felt it was a delaying tactic to stop development in the area,” he said.
A report on the progress of the KKIA was meant to have been delivered by ‘prior to July 2017”, but in February there was no mention made of it.
The Gazette inquired about its status in December and received no response from Council, although in a follow-up inquiry in February, Mr Conroy said it had been put on hold.
“Whilst Officers have continued work on the Structure Planning for the Kurmond Kurrajong Investigation Area,Council has resolved to undertake a review of the Hawkesbury Residential Land Strategy following consideration of a Mayoral Minute at its Ordinary Meeting dated 30 May 2017,” he said.
“Given the broader significance of the review of the Hawkesbury Residential Land Strategy, efforts have been focused towards that so as to properly inform the Kurmond-Kurrajong Investigation Area process.”
The last time the KKIA was before Council was November, 2016.
At the time, a controversial resolution was reached, which saw Council refuse to accept new planning proposals in the KKIA, until the report was completed.
Part five of a six part Council resolution said: “Council not accept any further planning proposal applications within the Kurmond and Kurrajong investigation area until such time as the structure planning as outlined in this report in completed. Council receive a progress report on the structured planning prior to July 2017.”
It means if you wanted to sub-divide your land in Kurmond and Kurrajong, you would not be able to submit a planning proposal to Council to do that.
Council resolved at that November meeting to continue processing existing planning proposals in the system, but no new ones will be accepted until the KKIA report is completed, or councillors vote to change the resolution.
