Media Release
Litchfield Council does not support the Noonamah Ridge Development
Thursday 16 June 2016
Litchfield Council has outlined its objection to the Noonamah Ridge proposal in a submission to the Northern Territory Government Department of Lands Planning and Environment.
The submission, which acts as its response to a Planning Scheme Amendment Application, was fully endorsed by Litchfield Councillors at last night’s Council Meeting on Wednesday 15 June.
Mayor Maree Bredhauer said that the Council’s Letter of Comment addresses specific areas of concern and clearly indicates that Council could not support the application in its present form.
“Council is aware that the final decision for this development does not rest with us, we do however trust that our concerns will be taken on board and be considered before a final decision on the Amendment is made,” Mayor Bredhauer said.
“We have provided a detailed response indicating specifically where Council supports the proposed amendments and where we can not support the changes or require additional information.”
Litchfield Council’s objections include the absence of minimum lot sizes, the absence of clarity of whether multiple dwellings are proposed, requirements relating to public lighting, potential conflicts between restrictions for clearing native vegetation and Council’s stormwater drainage requirements and the absence of any proposed setbacks for residential lots within the subdivision.
Council’s Letter of Comment goes on to suggest that it supports larger lot sizes around the periphery of the development adjacent to existing residential lots and that it is important to preserve the level of amenity for existing residents.
“We are quite aware that in other areas of the Top End developers have sold the idea of a mix of lots sizes but in reality the outcome has primarily been a small lot development. This is not a vision we have for Litchfield.”
“The zoning, at a minimum, includes general expectations or ranges for the amount of dwellings in each lot size. In a rural estate, it is expected that the majority of lots would be, at a minimum, one or two hectares in size.”
“As a Council we have a responsibility to safeguard the interest of our community, the people who live and work in Litchfield, while we acknowledge and understand that a lot of work has gone into this proposal, we can not support it as it stands,” Mayor Bredhauer said.