The Department of Planning and Environment visited Springwood at the end of last month to hear first-hand from local residents their views on a local character discussion paper, now on exhibition.
Acting Deputy Secretary, Planning and Design at the Department, Brett Whitworth said it was the first time the Agency had been a presence at the Springwood Foundation Day Festival.
“Our team met with locals during this day of family fun, to help celebrate the local village’s heritage — and find out more about what everyone wants for the Blue Mountains,” Mr Whitworth said.
He said residents shared ideas for their neighbourhood with the Department’s team including their three top values: Natural environment, sense of local community, and access to shops and services.
“The local character of an area should be at the heart of strategic planning,” Mr Whitworth said.
“An area’s local character is the fabric of a community; it’s what makes a place identifiable and the reason people feel an attachment to a particular area.”
He said the Department’s Local Character Overlays Discussion Paper outlined an option for Blue Mountains City Council to include the attributes of particular places cherished by the community in its Local Environmental Plan (LEP).
“We want to keep these conversations going and hear views on how we are helping to plan for local communities in the Blue Mountains Local Government Area,” Mr Whitworth said.
“We also have a proposal to convert period housing areas under the Blue Mountains LEP to heritage conservation areas.”
The community is invited to have their say on the Local Character Overlays Discussion Paper until 20 May.
The Department’s 11-page Discussion Paper can be accessed at this PS News link.
