Directions Paper - Western Australian Planning Commission

Directions Paper on the Integration of NRM and Land Use Planning(SPP 2.8 Draft Bushland Policy for the PerthMetropolitan Region), but not for other areas ofthe State. State wide SPPs for native vegetationand basic raw materials are a priority from aNRM perspective especially in peri urban areaswhere there is demand for basic raw materialsand pressure to subdivide and develop landcontaining native vegetation given its proximityto urban centres. DPI is currently reviewingSPP 2.4 Basic Raw Materials to extend it statewide and is preparing a strategy for basic rawmaterials to determine the adequacy of currentand future supplies of basic raw materials toservice demand within the south west of WA.In addition to extending some metropolitanfocused policies State wide there is alsopotential benefit in including region specificpolicy measures or the flexibility to accountfor regional differences. For example in thewater resources SPP specific advice could beprovided to guide land use planning in certainwater catchments (for example Peel-Harvey).Guidance on settlement planning outside ofthe Perth Metropolitan Region at a State andregional level is mainly provided through StatePlanning Policy 3 Urban Growth and Settlementand regional planning strategies and at alocal level through Local government’s localplanning strategies. SPP3 was developed toestablish principles and considerations to assistplanning for urban growth and settlement, butcurrently fails to establish a settlement hierarchy.Establishment of a settlement hierarchy is animportant element of planning for and managinggrowth to minimise adverse impacts on naturalresources. The issue of settlement planning,particularly in relation to rural residentialdevelopment is considered further in the PeriUrban Planning chapter (see Chapter 7).5.1.6.2 Integrated framework for sustainabledecision makingThe State Planning Framework provides littledirection for resolving conflicts or tradeoffsbetween different policies, as there is atendency for policies within the State PlanningFramework to deal with individual issues (e.g.bushland, basic raw materials, coastal etc)and to be implemented independent of otherpolicies. Reconciling conflicts and tradeoffsis particularly important in achieving NRMoutcomes through land use planning, especiallyin peri urban areas where there is a diversityof land uses and environmental assets. TheState Planning framework would benefit froman overarching sustainability framework toreconcile conflicts and tradeoffs and identifywhich policies take precedence over otherpolicies. As it is the intended purpose of StatePlanning Policy 1 State Planning FrameworkPolicy to unite existing state and regionalpolices, strategies and guidelines within acentral framework that provides a context fordecision making on landuse and development,it is recommended that this policy be updatedto introduce the concept of sustainability as ameans of achieving a balance between the keyconsiderations, tradeoffs and contradictionsbetween different policies.5.1.6.3 Guidance on implementation atdifferent stages of the planningprocessCurrently the capacity of the state planningframework to provide guidance on addressingNRM issues at the different stages of theplanning process is varied. SPPs are currentlya mixture of high level principles andoperational guidance, which often makes theirimplementation difficult not only from an NRMperspective but for land use planning in general.Guidance on the implementation of SPPs at thedifferent stages of the planning process wouldassist ease of implementation. It is important thatwhere guidance is prepared it is given head ofpower through reference in the relevant SPP andit is prepared concurrent with development ofthe policy or the review and update of the policy.SPPs that have specific relevance to NRM thatwould benefit from further guidance to supporttheir implementation include the following:• SPP 2.4 Basic Raw Materials• SPP 2.5 Agricultural and Rural Land UsePlanning• SPP 2.9 Water Resources34