MIDCOAST Council’s Rural Living Strategy will have an extended exhibition period for a further ten weeks.

Council is currently working on the Draft Rural Living Strategy, which has received immense feedback, particularly regarding paper subdivisions in the area.

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With Council staff receiving approximately 600-700 phone calls and Councillor Len Roberts reporting receiving at least 200 emails and phone calls combined, a Notice of Motion was raised to assist the Land Use Planning team in receiving submissions.

The new deadline for submissions will be 28 January 2022, with a 22 week exhibition period.

Cr Len Roberts spoke about the influx of submissions.

“People have been calling saying that we don’t like what Council is doing and then when they hear that these paper subdivisions have been this way for 40 years or longer, they are wanting Council to do something about it,” Cr Roberts said.

“We’re hearing from the strategic planning team that they want to get out and they want to have some face-to-face time with this.

“We’ve got to let the people know that since it is such a significant body of work that we will be taking the unprecedented step of extending this submission

“The 22 weeks gives people the opportunity to sit down and put in how they really feel, giving us a landowner-informed approach,” he said.

The Council will continue to discuss the Rural Strategy and Paper Subdivisions report with the State Government (Department of Planning), outline the extended opportunities being provided for engagement as part of the Rural Strategy program and the process for considering landowner input into strategic planning for paper subdivisions.

By Tara CAMPBELL