Sensational-Adelaide.com

We want out of the Barossa boundary
by: Bryan Littlely From: The Advertiser February 15, 2012 12:00AM

A GROUP of landholders nestled between the Barossa Valley and Gawler has formulated a plan to break away from the Barossa.

The Concordia Gawler Group, consisting of five residents from the area between Gawler and Rosedale, has drafted a public-initiated structural reform proposal to alter the council boundaries of the Town of Gawler and Barossa Council.

The draft proposal has been sent out to about 20 residents of the affected area for consultation only and has not been formally submitted to either council for consideration.

It suggests the 1500ha area be relinquished by Barossa Council to the Town of Gawler.

One of the spokesmen for the group, landholder Peter Conrick, said the Barossa Council had lost contact with the area.

Its lack of consultation with landholders over the recently introduced Barossa Valley Character Preservation Bill was a tipping point for the action, Mr Conrick said.

"The reason we have done it, made the suggestion, is that the Barossa Council is focused on viticulture and this is a farming and grazing area ... we feel there is a lack of interest in what happens here," he said.

"And everything that we do all happens in Gawler.

"If we want to go to the doctor, go grocery shopping, to the gym or fill the car with petrol, it all happens in Gawler.

"Because of that, we communicate with the people of Gawler. We have no communication at all from Barossa Council.

"The thing that really stirred us up was the proposal for the Barossa Valley Character Preservation Bill ... nobody from this area was consulted.

"The consequences of that bill is that we cannot diversify our farming practices at all.

"There's load restrictions on the bridge at Rosedale over the North Para and heavy vehicle transport restrictions through Gawler. Now that urban areas are getting closer on the western side, the agricultural practices get harder - spraying, working late at night and burn-offs."

Mr Conrick said the Barossa Council's rates for rural land also worked out to be about 20 per cent higher than other surrounding councils.

The group made the draft submission available to residents for consultation and has taken feedback by letter and on a Facebook page. If a formal submission is made, it will sit with the relevant parties for up to 10 weeks before feedback is provided.

Charlie and Kirsten Teusner have been relocating their farming operations from Concordia to Lameroo due to the pressures on farming from urban sprawl.

They say allowing their land to be developed or loosening the restrictions on them at Concordia would make it more attractive to buyers and thereby easier for farmers to relocate.

Barossa council chief executive David Morcom said the council was aware a small number of residents wanted existing rural land in Concordia rezoned - to land uses such a residential - to increase its value.

"But council is also are accountable to the significant number of residents in the area who have written to us advising that they covet their quiet rural lifestyle and deeply oppose any possibility of rezoning," Mr Morcom said.

The Town of Gawler did not respond to questions.

Hooligan wrote:

crawf wrote:

Waewick wrote:
curious to know, how much of that construction has been for "affordable" housing?

Not much of it.

I would actually say none

crawf wrote:Or I would rather they build infill development between Blakeview and Evanston Park, so it's closer to existing services and the city in general.

It makes more sense to do that instead of building at Buckland Park, Two Wells, Freeling and now Roseworthy. Gawler already feels like an outer suburb of Adelaide.

duke wrote:We need to start thinking about Vertical Farming

rhino wrote:

duke wrote:We need to start thinking about Vertical Farming

What are verticals, who eats them, and would anybody buy them?

A $450 million land release north of Adelaide will be officially made today.

eyre-at-penfield.jpg (77.89 KiB) Viewed 4633 times

Eyre at Penfield, bordered by Andrews, Petherton, Stebonheath and Womma roads, is a 121 ha development of 1750 allotments, 2000 houses and units for about 5000 people. It is expected to be developed over the next 12 to 15 years.

AV Jennings Eyre project director Mike Lyon said the masterplan behind the development would encourage interaction between residents.

"We believe the key to establishing a sustainable and harmonious community at Eyre is to create an environment which brings people and families together and encourages positive social interaction," Mr Lyon said.

"It's based on the fundamental social principle of encouraging people to engage at a `micro' community level - the level in a local precinct where people know one another and interact with one another."

Smaller parks no larger than 2000sq m would allow for passive surveillance by neighbours but there would also be a larger Civic Park, nature trails and a potential wetland, he said. Real Estate Institute of SA president Greg Moulton said affordable land was vital to house an expanding population.

"With direct access to the Northern Expressway, this will be a significant area of growth and development," Mr Moulton said.