Proposed amendments to town planning regulations covering "Open Field Market Gardens" has been released for public consultation - closing 9 August 2013
Logan Council is suggesting amending parts of the old Beaudesert Shire Planning scheme of 2007.
http://www.logan.qld.gov.au/planning-and-building/planning/current-planning-schemes/beaudesert-planning-schemes/proposed-amendments is where you can read council's documents
The proposed amendments to the old Beaudesert Shire Council planning scheme would introduce code assessments for proposals over 8,000m2 (2 acres), that are currently exempt, and allow development in the Rural Living precinct in the Mt Lindsay Corridor Zone.
It is unfortunate that council continues to confuse the language used to describe the type of agriculture referred to in these documents. For the purpose of these planning documents the phrase 'intensive outdoor horticultural production' is referred to as 'open field market gardens'. This new term (which never appeared in the original BSPS2007) has been developed to refer to 'igloo type' intensive protected horticulture - but without the structures in which crops are grown.
In other parts of Australia there has been a long happy association of market gardens and supply of fresh local food - especially Sydney with its La Perouse farm. Three Heritage listed Chinese market gardens still exist started in 1800s.
Planning and Development Committee Deputy Chair Cr Jennie Breene (Division 12) said it was important residents and interested parties have a say to help inform community expectations and guide appropriate policy changes. Community strongly agrees on the importance of being genuinely involved in having a say in these matters.
"I understand there are strong views in the community regarding market gardens, so Council has decided to conduct open community consultation to help us understand community sentiment," she said. Strong views have been formed by residents who have been impacted by practices that have detrimental impact on their quality of living and also resulted in unexplained bird deaths.
"We understand that residents in rural residential areas choose to live in these locations for the rural amenity.
"However, we also understand that increasing demands for locally grown food mean land suitable for small-scale horticulture is increasingly being utilised as semi-commercial market gardens, regardless of zoning plan in place.
"By releasing these proposed amendments for public consultation we hope we can strike a balance between preserving rural lifestyle and helping create new local employment for rural residents.
"I would strongly urge all interested parties to make sure they have their voices heard by lodging a submission with Council before the closing date."
Copies of the proposed changes are available at all Logan City Council Customer Service Centres or at www.logan.qld.gov.au.
Submissions close on 9 August 2013 at 5:00pm.
Send your objections to:
Re: Amendment lC
Planning dePartment
Logan City Council
PO Box 3226
Logan City DC QLD 4ll4
Or email to : councThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..gov.au
Keep up to date with this issue by visiting The Greenbank Mozzie blog at this link. This local community blog has been established by local residents who are living in the midst of agricultural practices which mostly employ toxic chemicals. Although APVMA the Australian regulatory authority may have approved use of chemicals when used under cetain conditions by licenced people there is no easy way to alert authorities to concerns of misuse and use continues for many years after expoxure. One invesigation began 1995 and product is still available. Did you see recent Four Corners expose Chemical Time Bomb?
In the 1980s and 1990s governments across Australia outlawed the use of the herbicide 245T. The ban was introduced for one very good reason - 245T contains dioxin, a chemical impurity with the potential to seriously harm people who are exposed to it. But has the dioxin menace been tamed? Four Corners reveals evidence that this potentially deadly chemical compound may still be present in weed control products and that authorities do not routinely test for it.The program also reveals that this hands-off approach to regulation is entirely in keeping with the way governments have dealt with the lethal chemical dioxin over four decades. See program here.
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2013/07/22/3806111.htm
Our rural residential lifestyle has been choesen by many of us for the provisioning of clean air clean water and clean food with a quiet ambiance of nature's sounds.