Proposed Planning Scheme Policy and Local Government Infrastructure Plan

A Local Government Infrastructure Plan:

To plan for the future, Council looks at expected population and job growth and compares this with what’s actually happening on the ground. This helps make sure infrastructure is delivered in the right place, at the right time.

The Local Government Infrastructure Plan (LGIP) sets out the major infrastructure needed to support growth, such as roads, water supply, sewerage and parks, along with the standard of service the community can expect.

Council has completed a review of the LGIP and is proposing an interim LGIP. This update:

• Revises the Schedule of Works for each major infrastructure network
• Updates the Desired Standards of Service
• Applies to the entire Southern Downs Regional Council area
• Does not change the Priority Infrastructure Area (PIA)

The LGIP also considers the financial impact of delivering infrastructure, helping ensure what is planned is realistic, affordable and can be delivered over the next 10 years.

What is an Interim Local Government Infrastructure Plan (LGIP)?

An Interim LGIP is an infrastructure planning framework that can be used by a Local government before its full Local Government Infrastructure Plan (LGIP) is adopted. It sets out how trunk infrastructure will be planned, funded, and sequenced during an interim period.

Why interim?

Southern Downs, like many other Councils in regional Qld, have been experiencing strong population growth. As part of the finalisation of the new draft planning scheme, changes were made in response to community feedback on land proposed for new growth, including both residential and non-residential. Further bodies of work will be needed to ensure that Council is responding to that growth and identifying the infrastructure needed, balanced with the long-term financial position. Adopting an interim LGIP will enable Council to amend the LGIP once these further bodies of work are completed over the coming years.

A planning scheme policy provides practical guidance to help applicants meet the requirements of the Southern Downs Planning Scheme.

The Engineering Design Manual is one of these policies. It sets out clear standards for how infrastructure should be designed and built, including things like:

• Roads, stormwater and drainage
• Water and wastewater
• Footpaths and lighting
• Development on constrained land

It also outlines what information Council may require with a development application and how proposals will be assessed.

Why it matters

The Engineering Design Manual brings all Council’s design and construction standards into one place. This makes it easier for developers, consultants and the community to understand what’s required and helps ensure infrastructure is delivered consistently and to the right standard.

It applies across the entire Southern Downs region and supports the assessment of development applications under the planning scheme.

A Planning Scheme Policy helps to guide how the development criteria set out within a planning scheme can be achieved - for example a new road within a subdivision. For the new draft scheme, Council received comments on the expected level of infrastructure required for new development, which includes things like the standard of road, kerb treatment and footpaths. This feedback helped form this draft Planning Scheme Policy to better reflect community expectations, advertise standards, and ensure safety standards are still met.

The Engineering Design Manual planning scheme policy should be read alongside the Southern Downs Planning Scheme. It applies across the entire region and is used when assessing development applications, including material change of use, reconfiguring a lot, and operational works.

The Engineering Design Manual brings all Council’s design and construction standards together in one document for development-related infrastructure.

While the policy sits under the Southern Downs Planning Scheme, it provides a single, coordinated source of information that brings related requirements together in one place.

This approach is expected to improve consistency and efficiency in the development assessment process.

It also makes it easier for both Council staff and external users to find, understand and use the information, and simpler for Council to keep the document up to date.