Hunter Puts ‘Nimble Neighbourhoods’ at Heart of Regional Plan

The NSW government is working on a strategic plan to turn the Hunter region into a series of 15-minute “nimble neighbourhoods” with infill development.

This would create more housing and development up to four storeys within walking distance of town centres, rail stations and public space.

Houses in the Hunter are generally three or four bedrooms but there is a growing number of single or couple-only households moving to the area, according to the draft Hunter Regional Plan 2041.

The Hunter Valley, home to 860,000 people, is one of the top performing regional areas in Australia—prices last year increased 35.3 per cent for houses and 21.5 per cent for units.

The plan outlines ways to accelerate proposals, add infill development, decrease the area’s dependency on coal mining and respect traditional custodians in planning over the next two decades.

“The greater the per cent of growth by infill, the greater the savings in public infrastructure spending; the more population support there will be for walking, cycling and public transport; and the lower per capita greenhouse gas emissions,” the report said.

“Local strategic planning provides the basis for determining the locations for new communities. These local strategies will need to be in line with the benchmarks.”

Hunter development benchmarks to 2041

^{^Source: Draft Hunter Regional Plan 2041}

For commercial development, diversity, vitality and expanding the 24-hour economy were key; providing short-term accommodation and support for main streets by promoting entertainment, hospitality and tourism.

While the potential for increased housing and employment would be determined by local government, there were a number of towns identified as strategic centres, which generally would have nimble neighbourhoods within them.

This include Nelson Bay, Raymond Terrace, East Maitland, Maitland, Branxton, Kurri Kurri, Cessnock, Glendale, Charlestown, Morriset, Singleton, Muswellbrook and Scone.

Further north, Forster-Tuncurry, Taree and Dungog were also considered strategic centres in the draft 2041 plan.

The future growth areas to be investigated in the next review of the plan, generally every five years, were Karuah-Swan Bay, Paterson, Wallalong, Paxton and Wyee.

The draft Hunter Regional Plan is in the community consultation phase, however, some of the most significant feedback is expected from the Biraban Local Aboriginal Land Council.

The council and Landcom have signed a memorandum of understanding to work together and unlock projects in the region and create a joint submission on the draft Hunter plans.

This follows a greater push from the NSW government to include these communities in planning, which resulted in the addition of six sites in Sydney’s northern beaches to the Aboriginal Lands policy for future development earlier this year.