LSPS Goal Achieved

Council has completed an essential part of the Local Environmental Plan (LEP) review process that has been ongoing for a number of years. This first stage involved the production of a Local Strategic Planning Statement, a document which plans for economic, social and environmental land use needs over the next 20 years.

The LSPS sets clear planning priorities about what will be needed, such as homes, employment, transportation links, services and infrastructure, where these should be located to meet future needs and when they will need to be delivered. The LSPS also sets short, medium and long-term actions to deliver the priorities for the community’s future vision.

It is a State Planning requirement for every Council in NSW to prepare a Local Strategic Planning Statement and while the document articulates a community vision for the future, it is a “living document” and must be sufficiently flexible to enable modification to facilitate changes in community aspirations, needs and opportunities.

This is a major achievement and will assist in the consolidation of current Local Environmental Plans and production of a new single LEP for Hilltops. At the last Council meeting held on 22nd June 2020, I acknowledged the great work done by Council staff in bringing the document together despite the difficulties of mandatory COVID19 measures.

Good rains have setup what hopefully will become a highly successful calendar year in agriculture, with the greening of paddocks, farmers and graziers will have production hopes set high and will no doubt look forward to resumption of the gravel road re-sheeting programme that was stalled in late 2019 due to drought conditions. The good news is that the unspent funds have been identified for carry-over into the 2020-2021 budget year. This will be a major financial kick-along for the gravel roads re-sheeting programme.

Recently, COVID19 measures have been eased somewhat, allowing us to feel a bit more relaxed... but to keep the ball rolling, please exercise good personal hygiene. Wash or sanitise your hands regularly and practice social distancing, stay safe and stay well.

– Councillor Greg Armstrong

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• Local Council