Roxby Downs Town Centre PAR

The 'Roxby Downs Town Centre PAR' was formally approved by the State Government on Thursday 1 November 2007.

The zoning changes were released for public consultation in a draft Ministerial Plan Amendment Report (PAR) in April 2007. See below for details of the original proposals and consultation which occured under the Ministerial PAR process. Some of the original proposals were amended following the consultation. 

The approved zoning changes will now be incorporated into the Municipal Council of Roxby Downs Development Plan.

Draft released for consultation 

Roxby Downs is growing quickly, and if the Olympic Dam mine expansion goes ahead the population will more than double from 4,000 to 10,000 plus.

It is vital that this growth is properly planned.

One part of this process is to address the future development of the Roxby Town Centre. The Town Centre’s development must be orderly, and able to accommodate desirable features such as more and enhanced community, shopping, business and entertainment facilities.

As the Town Centre is currently already experiencing significant development pressures - independent of a decision on the potential Olympic Dam mine expansion - it is important that action is taken now to ensure future development is well managed and results in a sound and vibrant outcome.

To ensure this, the Roxby Downs Council has requested the Minister for Urban Development and Planning to prepare a new zoning plan for the Town Centre. A draft of the new plan is outlined in a draft Plan Amendment Report ('Roxby Downs Town Centre PAR'), which is now being released for two months of public consultation.

The public consultation process on the draft PAR will be conducted by the Development Policy Advisory Committee (DPAC), an independent statutory body which advises the Minister on planning matters (for information on the DPAC visit http://www.dpac.sa.gov.au/).

The period for written submissions on the new draft plan opened on Thursday 19 April 2007 and closed on Tuesday 19 June 2007. A formal public hearing will be held at 6.00pm on Wednesday 4 July 2007 (see below for more detail).

Interim operation 

The draft PAR will be on ‘Interim Operation’ from the start of the public consultation period, giving it temporary effect for a period of 12 months. Interim Operation has been used for this draft PAR because the Minister is of the opinion that it is necessary in the interests of orderly and proper development of the town centre. This does not mean however that the final PAR has already been decided; changes to it can certainly occur if they are considered appropriate.

Detail 

The Minister for Urban Development and Planning has prepared this draft PAR at the request of the Roxby Downs Council to address the future growth management of the Town Centre area.

The draft PAR proposes changes to zoning in the town centre to:

  • locate similar activities in the town centre near each other to enable orderly development, e.g. the recreation and sporting activities and clubs together, tourist accommodation together, business activities together, shopping facilities together and educational facilities together 
  • reinforce Richardson Place as a ‘main street boulevard’
  • encourage the development of new shops and businesses, to promote competition. 

A map of the town centre can be viewed below and in the PAR documentation, as can more detail.

A Community Information Sheet can also be downloaded here:

A separate significant development issue facing the town is, of course, the proposed Olympic Dam mine expansion. The planning implications of this on the township will be handled through a separate major project assessment process involving an Environmental Impact Study. This Study will look at the requirements for housing and other community services and facilities, such as health, education and infrastructure associated with an expanded workforce and the non-mine related population.

Detailed documentation

You can also view the draft PAR and associated mapping by:

  • visiting Roxby Downs Council office or the Roxby Downs Library
  • visiting Planning SA’s offices, Level 5, 136 North Terrace, Adelaide (tel: 08 8303 0791)

Plan Amendment Report Process

Development Plans outline what sort of land use is and is not envisaged for particular zones within each Plan area (eg residential, commercial, industrial, rural), and various objectives, principles and policies further controlling and affecting the design and other aspects of proposed developments. The area covered by a Development Plan usually corresponds with a local council area.

The Development Act 1993 provides the legislative framework for undertaking amendments to a Development Plan. The Act allows either the relevant Council or the Planning Minister (under prescribed circumstances) to amend a Development Plan.

An amendment to a Development Plan is referred to as a Plan Amendment Report or a 'PAR'. The written PAR documentation consists of:

  • an Explanatory Statement summarising the need for the amendment and the nature of the proposed changes;
  • a Statement of Investigations including a summary of the conclusions; and
  • a section that contains the proposed amendments to the Development Plan.

Further detail of the Ministerial PAR process (which involves the Minister releasing a draft PAR for public consultation conducted by the independent Development Policy Advisory Committee) is available on our Ministerial Plan Amendment Reports page.

Having a say

Written submissions

Written submissions on the draft PAR were received for a period of two months, from Thursday 19 April 2007 to Tuesday 19 June 2007.

Public submissions will be available for viewing from Wednesday 20 June 2007 until the conclusion of the public hearing (see below) on this website and at Planning SA, Level 5, 136 North Terrace, Adelaide.

Public Submissions

The following public submissions were received in relation to the drafy Roxby Downs Town Centre PAR:

01 - Kathy Hoffmann [PDF 129 KB]
02 - Chad Oldfield, Roxby Milk Distributors [PDF 52 KB]
03 - Wayne Lawson, Managing Director, Raine & Horne Roxby Downs [PDF 48 KB]
04 - Steve Palyga, Director, Leasecorp Group of Companies [PDF 175 KB]
05 - Richard Yeeles, Group Manager, Corporate Affairs, BHP Billiton [PDF 144 KB]
06 - Sarah Porter, Principal Land Use Planner, QED Pty Ltd [PDF 339 KB]
06A - Sue Penglase, Vice President, Roxby Downs Club [PDF 47 KB]
06B - Attachment to P06A – public submission forms [PDF 5.2 MB]
07 - Chris Schultz, Chair, Roxby Downs Community Board [PDF 284 KB]
08 - Bill Boehm, Administrator, Roxby Downs Council [PDF 2.7 MB]
09 - Steven Owens, Vice President, Roxby Districts Sporting Club [PDF 648 KB]

Public hearing

The Development Policy Advisory Committee (DPAC) will hold a public hearing at the Roxby Downs Cultural Precinct, Richardson Place, Roxby Downs on Wednesday 4 July 2007 at 6.00pm.

Please note that this is not a public discussion forum but an opportunity for individuals to make verbal submissions to the DPAC. If you want to make a verbal submission you need to state this in your written submission.

After the consultation

DPAC will report on the consultation to the Minister. Following receipt of that report, the Minister will decide whether to make any changes to the draft, and then whether to adopt the PAR. If the PAR is adopted, the changes will then be made to the Municipal Council of Roxby Downs Development Plan.