Riverlea (Buckland Park) | 12,000 dwellings | $3b

[Pistol]

New super suburb
KARA PHILLIPS and LAUREN NOVAK

December 20, 2006 12:15am
Article from: The Advertiser

A $2 BILLION plan for a new town of 15,000 people north of Adelaide will be fast-tracked by the State Government.

The project, proposed by development company Vosporos, includes 7000 new homes, a town centre and shopping and commercial facilities on a 1000ha site at Buckland Park, between Virginia and Port Gawler. Also included is a medical centre, a community centre and library, sports and recreation facilities, and a school.

The project has been granted major development status, which will streamline planning and approval processes by taking these powers out of the hands of local councils and giving full control to the State Government.

Developers must also meet strict environmental rules set by the Government.

The planned homes will mainly be detached houses on separate allotments of 300-800sq m with some medium-density housing around the proposed town centre.

The proposal will also adhere to the South Australian Housing Plan of 15 per cent affordable housing, with at least 5 per cent of that earmarked for high-needs tenants such as the elderly and disabled.

Premier Mike Rann said a key element of the proposal was efficient water management and flood mitigation using wetlands and creek systems, and treated water from the Bolivar pipeline.

The Vosporos plan also includes solar and wind energy systems, water supply systems using rainwater and extensive tree-planting.

"While this Government is doing all it can to encourage population growth, we are also mindful that we have to manage our development in a sustainable manner," Mr Rann said.

"While SA needs more housing lots released, we don't want our metropolitan boundaries to expand randomly without proper planning procedures."

Vosporos shareholder and spokesman John Gerovasilis said the company was "finalising negotiations to partner one of the country's largest residential developers" on the project.

"Due to commercial sensitivity, we can't name that developer at this stage," Mr Gerovasilis said.

"The timing is right for this project because of the huge demand for residential living. We expect this township will provide homes to accommodate soldiers from the expanded army battalion at Edinburgh and those commuting further north and to the Barossa."

The town will be built alongside the Gawler River, which burst its banks last year, flooding about 60 homes in Virginia.

"Our plans and works by the State Government on stormwater will ensure flooding is not an issue," Mr Gerovasilis said.

It is understood gum trees along the river will also be retained.

Urban Development and Planning Minister Paul Holloway said the scale of the proposed town warranted its status as a project of major environmental, economic and social significance.

"Major development status triggers a comprehensive and co-ordinated assessment path that must be followed by the developer, including the preparation of an environmental impact assessment," he said. However, he stressed that the declaration did not "indicate the Government's support or otherwise" for the plan.

People living near the site have expressed mixed feelings.

Laura Leombruno, 22, of Buckland Park, had not expected to see a development of that size in the area. "People will be very shocked," she said. "Everybody is very close out here. The whole community will be talking about it for the next few weeks."

Mrs Leombruno said she expected the development would "easily" attract residents.

"There is a lot of housing going up over that way," she said.

Alan Rice, 59, who has lived in Buckland Park for about 20 years, said: "I don't think it (the land) is ready to be populated."

[Howie]

New super suburb
KARA PHILLIPS and LAUREN NOVAK

December 20, 2006 12:15am
Article from: The Advertiser

A $2 BILLION plan for a new town of 15,000 people north of Adelaide will be fast-tracked by the State Government.

The project, proposed by development company Vosporos, includes 7000 new homes, a town centre and shopping and commercial facilities on a 1000ha site at Buckland Park, between Virginia and Port Gawler. Also included is a medical centre, a community centre and library, sports and recreation facilities, and a school.

The project has been granted major development status, which will streamline planning and approval processes by taking these powers out of the hands of local councils and giving full control to the State Government.

Developers must also meet strict environmental rules set by the Government.

The planned homes will mainly be detached houses on separate allotments of 300-800sq m with some medium-density housing around the proposed town centre.

The proposal will also adhere to the South Australian Housing Plan of 15 per cent affordable housing, with at least 5 per cent of that earmarked for high-needs tenants such as the elderly and disabled.

Premier Mike Rann said a key element of the proposal was efficient water management and flood mitigation using wetlands and creek systems, and treated water from the Bolivar pipeline.

The Vosporos plan also includes solar and wind energy systems, water supply systems using rainwater and extensive tree-planting.

"While this Government is doing all it can to encourage population growth, we are also mindful that we have to manage our development in a sustainable manner," Mr Rann said.

"While SA needs more housing lots released, we don't want our metropolitan boundaries to expand randomly without proper planning procedures."

Vosporos shareholder and spokesman John Gerovasilis said the company was "finalising negotiations to partner one of the country's largest residential developers" on the project.

"Due to commercial sensitivity, we can't name that developer at this stage," Mr Gerovasilis said.

"The timing is right for this project because of the huge demand for residential living. We expect this township will provide homes to accommodate soldiers from the expanded army battalion at Edinburgh and those commuting further north and to the Barossa."

The town will be built alongside the Gawler River, which burst its banks last year, flooding about 60 homes in Virginia.

"Our plans and works by the State Government on stormwater will ensure flooding is not an issue," Mr Gerovasilis said.

It is understood gum trees along the river will also be retained.

Urban Development and Planning Minister Paul Holloway said the scale of the proposed town warranted its status as a project of major environmental, economic and social significance.

"Major development status triggers a comprehensive and co-ordinated assessment path that must be followed by the developer, including the preparation of an environmental impact assessment," he said. However, he stressed that the declaration did not "indicate the Government's support or otherwise" for the plan.

People living near the site have expressed mixed feelings.

Laura Leombruno, 22, of Buckland Park, had not expected to see a development of that size in the area. "People will be very shocked," she said. "Everybody is very close out here. The whole community will be talking about it for the next few weeks."

Mrs Leombruno said she expected the development would "easily" attract residents.

"There is a lot of housing going up over that way," she said.

Alan Rice, 59, who has lived in Buckland Park for about 20 years, said: "I don't think it (the land) is ready to be populated."

[rogue]

Article from link.....

Billionaire predicts boom times

EXCLUSIVE: PAUL STARICK, CHIEF REPORTER

February 21, 2007 01:15am

ONE of Australia's richest men, property magnate Lang Walker, is spearheading a $2 billion northern Adelaide development because he believes South Australia is the next boom state.

Mr Walker, whose personal fortune last year was valued at $1.7 billion, is the major investor in the planned 8000-home Buckland Park township between Virginia and Port Gawler.
In an interview with The Advertiser yesterday, the Sydney-based tycoon said SA's economic climate "compared very favourably" with other states and, along with Queensland, offered the most growth potential.

Mr Walker, who in November sold a slice of his empire for $1.2 billion, said the state was on the cusp of significant economic growth and he wanted to invest beforehand. "Timing is something that I always think a lot about - where to put money and where to invest," he said.

"I just see that you've got a progressive Government that wants to do things here.

"I think affordability in housing and living, I think that's going to drive South Australia."

Asked to expand on his belief that SA was on the cusp of economic growth, Mr Walker said: "Everything sort of has huge spin-offs. If you get population growth, you're going to have retail growth.

"One thing just leads on to the next and it really just brings more growth."

Mr Walker and Adelaide partner Daycorp also have bought a 100ha parcel of industrial land at Direk, near the Edinburgh Parks defence precinct.

The burgeoning defence industry, which is predicted to grow from 16,000 jobs to 28,000 within a decade, is a major driver of Mr Walker's decision to invest in Adelaide's north.

A new army mechanised battalion, of 1200 soldiers, will be based at Edinburgh Parks, centred on RAAF Edinburgh.

The Defence Housing Authority has started searching for homes for personnel and their families.

Mr Walker said the growing resources sector, spearheaded by the proposed $5 billion Olympic Dam expansion, also was a significant factor in his decision.

Western Australia's mining-fuelled boom had peaked, he said, and New South Wales was "in the doldrums", although there were some "good signs" for development in Victoria.

His comments echo those of fellow billionaire and transport magnate Lindsay Fox who, at the opening of his firm Linfox's new SA headquarters last month, praised the Government's attitude to development.

"I think there's more happening in South Australia today than has probably happened since it was established," Mr Fox said.

SA Centre for Economic Studies director Michael O'Neil said it was not "rocket science" to suggest SA might mirror Western Australia's resources boom.

"When Roxby Downs cranks up and you've got 5-6000 people earning pretty good money, there'll be a big boost to the SA economy," Mr O'Neil said.

He said many developers in Sydney and Melbourne were now looking at opportunities in Adelaide, because of the rising costs in those markets.

The 1000ha Buckland Park project, announced by the State Government in December, represents Mr Walker's first significant foray into Adelaide residential development.

However, he has conducted commercial development in the city for about 20 years, in partnership with Daycorp's Dean Day.

The Walker Corporation, of which Mr Walker is executive chairman, is currently developing 30,000 home lots across Australia.

He was named Australia's 11th-richest person in the BRW Rich 200 index, published in May last year.

Asked to comment on Mr Walker's views, Premier Mike Rann trumpeted the Government's Budget surpluses, tax cuts and infrastructure spending.

"We are determined to lock in these gains for the long term," he said.

[Edgar]

Just searched on google map and found out that Buckland Park consists of a HUGE piece of empty land. Was amazed at how big this empty land is, but couldn't find out exactly how big this development would cover. But glad that the government is slowly developing the northern areas, clean up all the bogans.

[stanley]

If you check out the planning SA website http://www.planning.sa.gov.au/go/develo ... k-township and then click on the link titled

Community Information Brochure - Assessment of proposed Buckland Park Country Township [PDF 355 KB][/img]

then there is a clearer outline of the project. around the land that they have already purchased for the township are glasshouses, plastic houses and sheds etc from people who are farming there atm. so i guess these people would eventually have to move

[stanley]

so anyone hear anything new on this topic?? its been a bit quiet

[Cruise]

so anyone hear anything new on this topic?? its been a bit quiet

yeah i want some info too like when i can register for a block of land?

[Edgar]

I flipped through the UBD map last night only the realised that this site is just beside the salt crystalisation site.

[crawf]

I don't think its been in operation in years, though I could be wrong.

[AtD]

Crawf, driven along Pt Wakefield Rd lately?

[crawf]

No I havent, the last time I was up that way would have been in 2002.

Thats why I'm not sure.

[shuza]

Does Adelaide really need all those salt crystallation pans?

[AtD]

Does Adelaide really need all those salt crystallation pans?

Do you really need to post every single thought that passes though your head?

[Aidan]

Does Adelaide really need all those salt crystallation pans?

That is actually quite an interesting question. Right now we do need all those salt crystallization pans. The salt industry is quite an important supplier to the chemical industry, and Adelaide's dry summers make it one of the best places to crystalize salt.

In the future, however, things might be different. A lot of our water will come from desalination, so three will be a lot of hypersaline water available, so by starting with a higher salt concentration, the salt crystallization will require less space for the same amount of productivity - or alternatively the same amount of space for a much higher productivity.

Which alternative is more likely? As there will be plenty of desalination in other places, a great expansion of salt supply is unlikely to be needed to meet the demand. It is possible that there could be uses that require much more salt (such as increasing the surface salinity of the North Atlantic to keep the Gulf Stream flowing at a good rate) but it is more likely that salt supply will grow faster than demand.

The land occupied by the saltpans isn't much good for other uses. Potential Acid Sulfate Soils prevent much excavation, which limits what can be built there. The land is low lying and some of it is susceptible to flooding by king tides. The slight sulfurous smell from the adjacent mangroves swamps could also be a problem.

But the land might be good for building transport corridors. With so much land available, there's potential for a new railway alignment, laid out for high speed, with space for more tracks than we're ever likely to need. There's space for another freeway once Port Wakefield Road fills up. There's space for a railfreight terminal, and possibly even an airport (I think I once remember hearing that land in that area had been reserved for one).And that still leaves plenty of land for wetlands to act as a flood barrier, and for the salt crystalization industry.

But if the Buckland Park development goes ahead in its current form, it would be an obstacle to all this. Is that a good reason to oppose it? What does everyone else here think?

[AG]

$2bn town `will flood'RENATO CASTELLO
May 13, 2007 12:15am
Article from: Font size: + -
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A PLANNED $2 billion Buckland Park township is at risk of major flood damage and its future has been described as "very much compromised".

A State Government chief engineer found that predicted flood volumes along the notorious Gawler River have been underestimated.
It has sparked warnings that building the 7000-home Buckland Park township next to the river would be a "calamity".

Government officials met on Thursday to discuss "the impact of these larger flows on the Northern Expressway project and the Buckland Township proposal, State Government support for this work to proceed immediately and the funding offer proposed", according to an email sent this week to members of the Gawler River Floodplain Management Authority from its executive officer, Fred Pedler.

Authority members have been called to an urgent follow-up meeting this Thursday.

The Government's senior stormwater engineer, Dr David Kemp, has found flows and flood volumes in the Gawler River are three times higher than previously estimated in 1993.

At this week's meeting, Government officials told councils in Adelaide's northern plains a $14.7 million flood control dam being built upstream at the North Para River would not provide the level of flood protection as first thought.

The proposed Northern Expressway, which will run 23km from Gawler to Port Wakefield, crosses the Gawler River east of Virginia, where the river burst its banks in November 2005, destroying $40 million worth of crops.

The proposed township of 15,000 people, which was declared a Major Project last December, would abut the Gawler River.

In a stark assessment, Gawler River Floodplain Management Authority chairman Dr Bruce Eastick said based on Dr Kemp's report, the township would be a "calamity".

"It would be very much compromised," he said. "There must be urgent consideration as to whether it is a proposition or not."

A major flood prevention program was first ordered in 1993 by the Government and councils a year after floods caused more than $12 million damage in Virginia and Two Wells. A key plank of the $20 million flood mitigation project is the $14.7 million North Para Dam, designed to prevent a freak one-in-100-year flood.

But in his report, Dr Kemp has downgraded the dam's effectiveness.

Construction of the dam, near Hewett, began last October and is expected to be completed by September. Another $5.3 million will be spent on raising the height of the South Para Reservoir, upgrading the lower Gawler River and restoring flood embankments.

The Federal and State governments have each committed $7.75 million to the $20 million scheme, with the councils paying $4.5 million.

Light Labor MP Tony Piccolo said the "revised" protection levels of the dam were a major concern and could have significant impacts on residents and development along the river.

"The authority has a clear responsibility to tell the community how this debacle has occurred after years of planning," he said.

"I will be asking the (Infrastructure) Minister (Pat Conlon) to undertake an investigation into how this could happen."

Transport, Energy and Infrastructure Department major projects manager Rod Hook confirmed he had met the GRFMA and the Buckland Park developers on Thursday.

"It was agreed further modelling works should be commissioned," he said.

"This is needed to enable the developers to undertake a proper environmental assessment of their development project.

"DTEI will also use this information when it undertakes the detailed design for the Gawler River crossing for the Northern Expressway project."