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November 2021
Message from the Chair of the State Planning Commission
Welcome to my first column as Chair of the Commission. It is my privilege to lead the Commission alongside its new members Noelle Hurley, Stuart Moseley, Elinor Walker and ex officio Sally Smith.
I extend my gratitude to former Chair Helen Dyer and member Allan Holmes, for their collective contribution to the successful implementation of the Planning and Design Code which has been invaluable.
South Australia is increasingly being recognised internationally for its valued lifestyle and the Commission has established a range of priorities to address this emerging growth. The Commission's Strategic Plan 2021-22 identifies themes that include a Review of the 30-year Plan for Greater Adelaide, Code Amendments and Regional Plans.
The Commission marked the completion of the inaugural five-year review of South Australia's Environment and Food Production Areas (EFPA) and is preparing to release its Review Outcomes Report later this month. My sincere thanks to everyone who contributed and to our stakeholders for their significant input which was crucial to the review process and subsequent key findings.
The Commission recently inspected wind and solar farms in the mid-north of the state and gained important insights into the opportunities and challenges that inform renewable energy policy. We also met with the Whyalla and Port Augusta councils to discuss their Regional Plans.
Last month, the Commission endorsed and released the State Commission Assessment Panel (SCAP) Practice and Operating Directions outlining the SCAP's role as the Commission's delegated authority for development assessment in the state. The Commission is committed to promoting a better understanding of how we operate and undertake land use planning in South Australia.
I encourage you to visit the Commission website and PlanSA portal to access resources that explain what we do and how we carry out our legislated functions.
It is the Commission's primary role to lead on state planning policy and to provide strong and effective leadership. We have exciting and challenging work ahead and will continue to collaborate and consult on important planning issues that impact all South Australians.
Craig Holden
Chair, State Planning Commission
Message from the Executive Director, Team PLUS
I would like to congratulate the newly appointed Chair and members of the State Planning Commission and look forward to working closely with them in ensuring our state continues to be more liveable, affordable, sustainable and prosperous.
The Open Space Grant program is a great example of championing our state's liveability and sustainability, and continues to play an important role in supporting councils to plan, build and promote open space and public realm initiatives for our communities. This year 16 councils have successfully secured funding to create unique, well-designed and sustainable public spaces for all of us to enjoy.
We continue to work with our key stakeholders and system end-users to refine the functions, features and usability of the planning system. To date, we have made 165 enhancements, which reflect the invaluable input from our customers and the hard work of our team in transforming these ideas to deliver consistent system improvements. The enhancement roadmap is available on the PlanSA portal and provides and overview of the future enhancements planned.
During October, the planning system received over 4141 development application submissions, with 2859 receiving development approval - generating an estimated $878.8m in development costs. The latest snapshot of the system's performance is on PlanSA, and will be updated every month.
A total of 254 new listings have been added to Local Heritage Places Register across four councils, as a result of the transition of Development Plan Amendments to the Planning and Design Code (the Code). These add to more than 7000 buildings, which are covered by a Local Heritage Place overlay in South Australia, and enjoy stronger protections as places of historical significance and architectural importance (and can be viewed in the Code and the SA Heritage Register).
Technology continues to expand our capabilities in delivering significant benefits to our projects. This includes the recent use of new Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology to improve the accuracy of flood mapping and bushfire risk modelling, which will help us address and minimise impacts to our safety in natural built environments and will be used to update the Code.
Sally Smith
Executive Director, Planning and Land Use Services
New Planning Commission unveiled
New State Planning Commission (L-R): Craig Holden; Noelle Hurley; Elinor Walker; Stuart Moseley
Four new members have been appointed to the State Planning Commission (Commission) for the period 1 November 2021 to 31 October 2024.
Craig Holden, who has served as a Commission member since 2018 has been appointed as the new Chair and brings significant experience encompassing architecture, project management, construction, real estate and development.
The three new Commission members – Noelle Hurley, Stuart Moseley and Elinor Walker –bring extensive experience in administration, law, executive leadership, management, urban planning, development consulting, and project management in both the public and private sector.
Meet the members who lead the state's planning and development system.
2021-22 Open Space Project Grants announced
Mofflin Health and Wellness Reserve Upgrade, City of Playford. Credit: Outerspace Landscape Architects
$15 million worth of funding for local community projects has been announced as part of the State Government's Open Space Grant Program.
During the application process a total of 52 applications were received between 1 July to 27 August 2021, seeking approximately $50 million in funding for the development of significant open space and public realm initiatives.
A total of 19 projects have successfully secured funding across 16 different council areas, with 14 projects in metropolitan Adelaide and five projects in regional South Australia.
View the successful 2021-22 projects selected by the independent assessment panel.
DAP enhancements
The PlanSA ePlanning system continues to be improved from valuable customer feedback and stakeholder input. Our technical team is currently progressing 15 system enhancements for completion by the end of this year, with a further 12 system enhancements scheduled for completion by mid-2022.
Some of these projects include:
- improvements and review of the Inspections and Notifications process
- fast track the application process for accepted development applications
- the ability to edit building stages
- updates to the Building Consent fee calculation function.
These system enhancements are in addition to our key priorities of maintaining system stability, ensuring cyber security and implementing regulatory compliance measures.
You can now view the completed, in-progress, and planned system enhancements on the PlanSA portal.
PlanSA: trending topics and resources
Our PlanSA Service Desk are busy fielding calls and providing helpful resources to assist with better understanding and use of the planning system. Here are this month’s top three trending FAQ topics.
- How to access the Development Application Processing (DAP) System via a mobile device:
- Go to plan.sa.gov.au
- Scroll to the 'Lodge an Application Online' section and select the relevant option.
Boost for South Australia's heritage protections
A Federation-era property in Glenelg South (Holdfast Bay) listed as a Local Heritage Place
The Minister for Planning and Local Government has approved the elevation of 254 Representative Buildings to the status of Local Heritage Places, meaning these historically significant buildings will have enhanced demolition controls under the state's planning system.
The 254 properties are located across Gawler (150), Holdfast Bay (34), Walkerville (34) and Mount Barker (36) council areas, and reflect the unique heritage and charm of various suburbs and towns. These places join over 7000 other Local Heritage Places across the State and can be found in both the Planning and Design Code and the South Australian Heritage Register.
The new listings bring the total number of approved Local Heritage Places to 460 under the current government.
Reference groups boost ongoing engagement with industry
Planning and Land Use Services (PLUS) have established two new industry reference groups as part of its commitment to facilitate ongoing engagement with key industry sectors for stakeholders to join, learn, share ideas and provide feedback on changes and ongoing improvements to the planning system.
- The Heads of Planning Reference Group will provide advice on policy and system improvements that impact the planning system.
- The Heads of Building Reference Group will assist with the development of building policy and the identification of improvements to the regulation of the building industry.
Membership for the groups will comprise regional and metropolitan council professionals, professionals in private practice and representatives from industry bodies, respectively.
PLUS would like to invite regional and metropolitan building and planning professionals to register their interest in voting for a representative and/or to nominate representatives for their respective Group.
PLUS also recognises that the community has a strong interest in our planning and development system. We will continue to provide a range of opportunities for the community to provide feedback.
For further information, please email PlanSA@sa.gov.au with Reference Group in the subject heading.
Building Fire Safety Committee completes investigative review of South Australia's out-of-council areas
The Prairie Hotel, located in High Street in Parachilna
The Building Fire Safety Committee for Out-of-Council Areas (Committee) completed an investigative review of fire safety levels in buildings in South Australia's out-of-council areas covering Port Augusta to Oodnadatta.
The Committee's initial trip was conducted in early October and focused on privately-owned buildings that provide overnight accommodation (i.e. hotels and motels). The Committee visited 11 buildings located within the towns of Wilpena, Parachilna, Blinman, Copley, Marree, William Creek and Oodnadatta.
During the site visits, the Committee gathered important information regarding the general condition of these properties, existing fire safety items, maintenance regimes and the extent of building owners' knowledge in relation to their obligation regarding fire safety.
Typical items the Committee consider as part of their building audit include:
- blocked or obstructed exits
- obstruction of paths to exits
- door hardware and door swings that obstruct or make evacuation difficult
- fire and smoke hazards (i.e. storage of flammable material under egress stairs)
- inadequate lighting to locate exits and safe evacuation points
- inadequate warning of a fire or other emergencies alerting people inside the building to evacuate safely
- insufficient smoke control.
The Committee intends to make its next site visit in April 2022 to continue raising awareness within the community and assist building owners to improve the level of fire safety within their buildings.
Accredited Professionals Scheme - audit program
The Accredited Professionals Scheme Accreditation Authority commenced its accredited professionals audit program as required under regulation 27 of the Planning, Developments and Infrastructure (Accredited Professional) Regulations 2019 on 1 November 2021.
Most accredited professionals will have their development assessment processes and procedures audited at least once every five years. The audits aim to ensure quality and consistency in development assessment services, providing confidence in the system. All audits will be performed by an approved Qualified Auditor.
Visit the PlanSA portal for information on the Accredited Professionals Audit Scheme. Questions or comments relating to audits can be emailed to DIT.APSAudit@sa.gov.au.
Updated 3D Development Activity Tracker
The PlanSA portal now features a newly updated 3D Development Activity Tracker (DAT) mapping tool. The DAT showcases major new development activity in the City of Adelaide, designated urban corridor zones and other strategic infill areas in metropolitan Adelaide.
Key features of the new DAT include:
- an information box that provides an overview of key statistics associated with the development
- images of the proposed development in the information box which can be updated as the building moves from ‘proposed’ to ‘completed’
- a slide feature allows users to quickly select or move to pre-set urban areas of interest
- the addition of aerial photography.
New LiDAR mapping to be available soon!
Digital Elevation Model derived from LiDAR over the Clare / Stockport region
As part of the Department's Flood Hazard Mapping and Assessment Project (the Project), Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data worth $250,000 has now been captured for target areas outside Metropolitan Adelaide, covering:
- Clare and Gilbert Valley townships
- Barossa, Middle Beach to Barossa
- Upper Torrens River
- Adelaide Hills including Mt. Barker, Strathalbyn and Nairne
- Upper Onkaparinga catchment area including Bremer Flat and Langhorne Creek
- Goolwa to Port Elliot
- Townships in the Fleurieu Peninsula.
This newly captured LiDAR data is a key input in the Project’s development of updated flood hazard mapping, which will be delivered via two Code Amendments over 2022.
In addition, the data is suitable for many other mapping purposes, including:
- bushfire risk modelling
- strategic planning and concept planning
- infrastructure planning and construction
- urban heat mapping.
It can also be used to show detailed slope contours, tree canopies and elevation at 50cm intervals as well as additional layers including tree canopy height and cover, and building extents.
This data will be made publicly available by DEW through the Elvis Elevation Foundation Spatial Data platform (Elvis) incrementally from December 2021.
Requesting a 'call-in' by the Minister for Planning and Local Government
A new process has been introduced to streamline ‘call-in’ requests made to the Minister for development applications of state significance.
Applicants can now visit a dedicated ‘call-in’ webpage on the PlanSA portal which outlines the criteria and the materials required for a request to be considered.
If a call-in request is granted under section 94 of the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016, such proposals are considered performance-assessed developments under the Planning and Design Code and are assessed by the State Planning Commission.
Local Councils and applicants can make such requests, but they must be for developments of social, environmental and economic importance, or where a perceived conflict of interest may exist for a relevant authority to assess and determine a proposal.
All supporting information and the ‘call-in’ request form should be emailed to PlanSA@sa.gov.au to initiate the process.
