Rodney Stevens

Time is running out for Clarence Valley residents to have their say on Clarence Valley Council’s amended Draft Local Housing Strategy and Council is providing the opportunity for locals to talk with Council staff about the changes.

When Clarence Valley Council CVC placed the Draft Local Housing Strategy LHS on public exhibition between October and December 2023, they received 873 public submissions and a petition with 1086 signatures against the previous draft.

After strong objections were made in submissions against increasing the building heights to 18 metres on the Yamba hill and CBD, and 12 metres in Iluka, Council amended the Draft LHS and it was endorsed by Council at the July 23 CVC meeting for re-exhibition from August 9 until September 23, 2024.

Key changes to the Draft LHS are:

1. Removing the proposed building height increase in the intervention areas in Yamba CBD, Yamba Hill and in Iluka Village.
2. The original draft LHS proposed to prohibit dwelling houses in the R3 zone, however this has now been removed.
3. Inclusion of trigger points in the proposed Planning Interventions to improve clarity around when these changes may progress.
4. Inclusion of the James Creek Investigation Area as a Planning Intervention to align with the North Coast Regional Plan 2041.
5. Inclusion of Palmers Island Rural Residential land as a Planning Intervention.

Residents of Iluka have organised a public meeting at the Iluka Community Hall from 4.30pm to 6pm, on August 29, to discuss the proposal for medium density housing along Queens Lane, Spenser and Micalo Streets.

Following the amendments to the Draft LHS, Council staff will be touring the valley in the coming weeks to answer questions from residents at Maclean, Grafton, Yamba, and Iluka.

Council staff will be at Maclean Council Chamber on Wednesday, August 28, from 11.30am to 1.30pm.

The following day, Thursday, August 29, Council staff will be at Grafton Council Chambers from 11.30am to 1.30pm.

Then on Tuesday, September 3, Council staff will be at Yamba’s Wooli Street Hall to answer questions from 11.30am to 1.30pm.

On Thursday, September 5, from 11.30am to 1.30pm, Council staff will be at Iluka Bowling Club for people to speak to about the changes.

For more information, to see the Draft LHS, or to make a submission visit https://www.clarence.nsw.gov.au/On-exhibition/Amended-Draft-Local-Housing-Strategy-for-Re-Exhibition