The NT Planning Commission wants the community to be sure it fully understands the facts about the development of a dual occupancy policy for the Northern Territory.
“Unfortunately there has been material circulating in some Darwin suburbs and via the media that at best is short on the full facts of the Planning Commission’s dual occupancy discussion paper and at worst very misleading,” the Commission’s Chairman Gary Nairn said.
“During briefings throughout the NT, in our information provided at those briefings and on our website, it is made very clear that a variety of minimum lot sizes ranging from 800 square metres to 1000 square metres is being considered.
“But third-party material circulated and comments on radio assert 800 square metres as if that is already decided,” Mr Nairn explained.
“In addition, this material and comments fail to mention that our discussion paper explains that design controls such as setbacks, landscaping and location are all integral parts of any dual occupancy policy.”
Most Australian jurisdictions include a dual occupancy policy in their planning schemes and the NT Planning Commission, as part of its strategic land-use planning responsibilities, is canvassing whether one such policy should be included in the NT Planning Scheme.
“It is good strategic planning to provide diversity in housing choice, to offer another opportunity for affordable housing, to stem the flow of urban sprawl and to more efficiently utilise existing infrastructure. An appropriate dual occupancy policy can address each one of these matters,” Mr Nairn said.
“Having said that, we want to ensure we can develop a policy that is suitable for the NT, from Darwin to Alice Springs, which is why we have been engaging the community not only in Darwin and Alice Springs, but also Katherine and Tennant Creek.
“Feedback from each community will help inform us as we prepare a recommendation to put to the Minister,” he added.
“However, the community must also be aware that for any dual occupancy policy to be included in the Planning Scheme the Minister must further publicly exhibit the proposal for an additional 28 days. There will then be a public hearing and finally a report to the Minister before any final decision is made.
“All of the facts about these matters can be found on the Planning Commission’s website and I encourage the community to have their say by the end of April,” Gary Nairn concluded.
Media contact - Helen Farquhar 0437 458213