Adelaide Hills | Developments & News

[crawf]

No photos Wayno.

- Mt Barker now has a Trims store!, on the corner of Gawler and Hutchinson Streets

used to be known as "the outback outpost" was essentially the same thing just a differant name, changed to Trims this year sometime.

One thing I noticed that has hardly changed is the vacant block boarded between Druids Avenue, Hutchinson, Morphett and Stephen Streets which has been vacant for over 6 years!. There was 2-3 years ago plan for a Big W, ground floor shops and roof-top carpark but no idea if this still actually going to happen.

the developers want to redevelop the whole block including the small building in the corner of morphett and hutchinson streets but the owners of those vuildings dont want to sell. Not sure why as it is just a small shitty lil building and the buisnesses occupying them could easily operate elsewhere.

Is that the car repairs?, I remember that was a issue back when I was living there. Agreed its a eyesore, the whole block ruins the town centre.

[flavze]

Is that the car repairs?, I remember that was a issue back when I was living there. Agreed its a eyesore, the whole block ruins the town centre.

yeah, plus a home loan shop as well ithink. I go past it regularily but never take any notice any more.

[Strangled Cat]

That vacant block is an eyesore alright! I've given up trying to think what and when will come to Mt Barker. More and more houses keep coming up, but it's not inline with the facilities of the town. I was told over a year ago that the vacant area that was where Adelaide hills Toyota kept their used cars before they moved the the Gilberts Holden site, would be used for the Hungry Jacks and KFC. I was sceptical at the time, now I take it with a grain of salt. It's ridiculous that the closest KFC is Glen Osmond or Murray Bridge and the closest Hungry Jacks is in Mitcham or Blackwood.

[monotonehell]

... It's ridiculous that the closest KFC is Glen Osmond or Murray Bridge and the closest Hungry Jacks is in Mitcham or Blackwood.

It's not really ridiculous is it? It's not like you are talking about an essential service like a doctor or similar. It's open to commercial interest. If a franchisee wants to open there, they will. What's ridiculous is that you're bleating about a fast food joint.

[Waewick]

... It's ridiculous that the closest KFC is Glen Osmond or Murray Bridge and the closest Hungry Jacks is in Mitcham or Blackwood.

It's not really ridiculous is it? It's not like you are talking about an essential service like a doctor or similar. It's open to commercial interest. If a franchisee wants to open there, they will. What's ridiculous is that you're bleating about a fast food joint.

I agree

its a positive that those types of stores aren't in the area, not a negative.

[flavze]

mt Barker is getting a Fasta Pasta.

and a chinese restruant.

[crawf]

Where they going?

[flavze]

Where they going?

fasta pasta is behind bob jane tmarts, the chinese store i'm not sure.
There was an advertisment in the courier for someone looking to buy a building for a 200 seat restruant for the purpose of building a chinese restruant.

[stumpjumper]

Speaking of food, ever hear of 'food miles'? They are the attribute that makes buying locally grown food so cost-effective.

Some of the state's highest-yielding and highest rainfall food production land is about to be covered in houses for whose occupants there will be no local jobs, insufficient local schools and medical facilities and little public transport.

To add to the loss of near city food production, there will be an unnecessary increase in energy expenditure taking the new residents back and forth between their city jobs and their dormitory suburb.

Meanwhile, there are vacant sites in the city which are zoned for high-rise development!

The community, the local council and planning experts are against the Mt Barker proposal, which was instigated by an approach to the Planning Minister from Connor Holmes, the planning firm representing five hopeful developers.

However the decision to rezone for the development was made in confidence in the Minister's office, between the Minister, advised by Connor Holmes (the Government's planning consultant for the 30 Year Plan), and the five developers advised by their planning consultant, Connor Holmes.

[rhino]

Some of the state's highest-yielding and highest rainfall food production land is about to be covered in houses ....

On the radio this morning Paul Holloway said that this is not some of the state's highest-yielding food production land, and hasn't been since it was subdivided into small-acre allotments.

I'm not all that familiar with the exact parcel of land that's being talked about, but I am aware of many, many small-acre allotments in the hills, where no food is grown. Many of these allotments formed what were once productive farms, but they have not been productive farms for many years, and are unlikely to return to productive farms. The original farmer carved up his farm into small-acre allotments becuse that was worth more than the farm as a whole, at which point it stopped being productive farmland, and now the owners of those small-acre allotments want to break them down even more, and the people who don't like their world changing are crying about productive farmland being lost. I'm happy to stand corrected here, I'm just relaying what I heard this morning.

[Wayno]

Page 208 of this document (30mb - Planning SA website) shows the planned Mt Barker urban boundary to 2038. As Rhino quite rightly points out, much of the land is already small acre allotments.

[Omicron]

And by extension, if local landowners are so concerned about this issue, then why is it all but a certainty that local landowners would sell their land to developers? If no-one sells, than development cannot proceed. Is this lost on most?

[monotonehell]

And by extension, if local landowners are so concerned about this issue, then why is it all but a certainty that local landowners would sell their land to developers? If no-one sells, than development cannot proceed. Is this lost on most?

Because the landowners can make more money now by selling than they can by operating a market garden. Which means less food locally grown, which means more food brought in from further away, which means more food-miles and higher prices. Which was the point of the first post.

Just because selling their land is more attractive the land owners doesn't make it the right thing to do big-picture-wise.

[Wayno]

Mt Barker expansion approved

From AdelaideNow

A LONG-TERM growth plan for Mt Barker has been approved including a blueprint for delivering a $550 million infrastructure support package, the State Government says.

Infrastructure Minister Pat Conlon said the plan was "a landmark partnership" between the State Government and developers.

New freeway access together with further transport infrastructure will be among a raft of critical projects delivered through the strategic partnership, he said.

Mr Conlon says $160 million in transport infrastructure will form part of the $550 million in projects to be invested in to help meet the growing demands of the important regional centre.

"Without having undertaken such a comprehensive re-zoning process, the negotiation of such infrastructure would have been near to impossible," he said.

"Ultimately this long-term investment will benefit the entire Mount Barker community and not just those moving into the new growth areas."

Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.

End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.

Acting Urban Development and Planning Minister Jack Snelling said a significant number of changes were made to the final DPA as a result of consultation with government agencies, the Mount Barker Council and local residents.

They include:

REMOVAL of 29 hectares of land from the DPA to preserve important remnant vegetation.

IDENTIFICATION of sites as important for flora and fauna conservation.

RESTRICTION of urban development within about 200 hectares of land rezoned by the development plan while intensive animal production businesses remain operational.

DESIGNATION of all existing and proposed urban areas as medium bushfire risk.

"These changes respond to the comments made within submissions and representations at the public meetings," Mr Snelling said.

Mr Conlon said an agreement with the developers would ensure funding was directed towards the required transport infrastructure as the urban growth occurs during the next 15 to 20 years.

"The proposed road, transport, energy and water infrastructure is critical for development of the land that has been rezoned," he said.

"There are detailed planning processes required prior to work beginning, but I would expect that some of the site works could be expected to start as early as 2011-12.

Infrastructure identified as necessary to support the population growth includes upgrading the existing freeway interchange at Adelaide Rd, a new interchange to the South Eastern Freeway at Bald Hills Rd and a new local road ring route around the town to connect to the Bald Hills exchange.

Arterial and local roads also need upgrading and up to three additional park-and-ride facilities need to be built, said Mr Conlon.

A new sewer and water infrastructure costing $260 million and energy infrastructure estimated at $35 million are also needed.

Mr Snelling says infrastructure discussions conducted in tandem with the consultations on the rezoning has enabled government agencies such as health, justice, education and others to plan ahead as the population increases.

[crawf]

Very glad to hear a large amount of money is being directed towards infrastructure.

I'm starting to think that this might be a good result for Mt Barker, because let's face it the area has been growing rapidly over the past decade and predicted to continue well into the future (well before this major plan). Now there is a clear guide for where that development should go aswell as much needed second freeway exit and ring road.

Without any plan or Government money, Mt Barker would become more of a mess than it currently is without decent infrastructure.

Though it's going to be interesting to see how the State Government are going to improve existing roads in Mt Barker itself, where most of the roards are extremely narrow and surrounded by properties (some of which are very old)

Also can't wait to hear the locals reaction