Local Planning in Queanbeyan

This week's class further explored the topic of local planning frameworks, with a field trip to Queanbeyan City Council to hear about the new planning framework recently introduced by the NSW local government. One of the key aspects of this reform was the replacement of separate plans with an integrated framework. The idea is to provide consistency between various statutory planning processes and reports and strengthen the strategic focus of councils. Planning takes place at many levels, over various time frames, and with many parties involved, thus to maximise efficiency and effectiveness integration is imperative.

Heirarchy of Queanbeyan Plans


The heirarchy with different temporal scales for each document is a key feature of integrated planning, and allows for the pursuit of long term goals through the undertaking of projects in the short term. Whilst this planning approach seems ideal in theory, one of the issues identified by the presenter at Queanbeyan was the failure to integrate the former Social Plan into the new documents. As a LGA, Queanbeyan faces challenges presented by factors such as a growing population and proximity to Canberra leading to decreased business opportunities. Thus, an emphasis on social planning issues is important to manage the liveability of the area. Another issue raised during discussion was the limited resources and power of Local Councils. The new planning documents are of little use if the measures are not able to be implemented. Although the Operational Plan identifies budget issues and practical aspects of implementing projects, there still seems to be a gap between the actual ability of Councils to put actions into practice.

Source: Queanbeyan City Council Delivery Progam, 2009

Local Level Planning Framework

This week's presentation focused on the Planning Framework at a local level, and was delivered by Hamish Sinclair, Director of the Planning Institute of Australia. Although perhaps a little overwhelming in terms of volume of information, having a solid understanding of the framework under which we may work is imperative.

After exploring The Codes Project website (http://codesproject.asu.edu/), it is evident that the idea of codes and laws relating to urban form is not new, with examples of building codes on the site dating back to the 10th century. Many of these early codes have a strong focus on security measures like city walls and trenches, and tend to have a prescriptive planning approach with an abundance of measurements relating to height and width of buildings etc. Today, this focus on details and measurement is still important, however, there has been a shift away from prescriptive planning to performance based planning. This shift aims to encourage diversity and creativity in urban design so as to avoid the creation of areas like that pictured below.

The Victorian Coastal Council's Siting and Design Guidelines (http://www.vcc.vic.gov.au/siting/sitingdesignguidelines.pdf) provide an example of a set of guidelines that have a strong emphasis on place making and urban design. Whilst this style of planning guidlines and codes are positive in the sense that they enhance the character and sense of place within areas, the detail required to convey information without simply using statistics leads to lengthy documents.

A Monotonous American Suburb
Source: Word Press 2010

Another important (and perhaps disconcerting) point raised was that regarding the difficulty of actually implementing plans in a market based society. The idea that one can create great plans, but their effectiveness is restricted by economic viability and will of developers. This concept is highlighted by the actions of great planners such as Ebenezer Howard, who placed great emphasis on the self sustainable economy of his garden cities, but had to make significant changes to his ideas when actually implementing the plan. Although disheartening to hear that as professionals, our plans, no matter how wonderful, are unlikely to be fully implemented in the way we desire, it just demonstrates the importance of taking into consideration economic viability when they are created. Instead of looking upon this as a negative, it is simply another challenge in the already multi-faceted skill set needed to be a successful planner.