Mackay Region Planning Scheme
On June 1 2011, council resolved to prepare a new planning scheme to manage development and land use in the region over the next 20 years. Council resolved to prepare a new planning scheme to respond to a range of factors, including but not limited to, the following:
- to develop one set of provisions to manage development in the region. Council is currently operating 3 planning schemes as a result of the amalgamation of Mackay City Council, Mirani Shire Council and Sarina Shire Council in 2008. This means council is currently applying 3 sets of different ‘rules’ to 3 different areas in the region
- to incorporate recent studies and strategies, such as the Draft Residential Densities Strategy and the Pioneer River Flood Study. Other studies can be found here
- to reflect current legislation, particularly the Sustainable Planning Act 2009, Queensland Planning Provisions, and State Planning Policies to reflect the Mackay, Isaac and Whitsunday Regional Plan 2031.
Stage 1: Planning and preparation
From June 1 2011, council has been working towards a draft version of the Mackay Region Planning Scheme. During this drafting process, council has taken into consideration:
- the 3 current planning schemes and planning scheme policies covering the region
- supporting studies and strategies
- relevant state legislation and policies
- interests and issues relevant to internal and external stakeholders
- issues, challenges and opportunities in the region
- best practice examples
The drafting process also included extensive state government collaboration, to ensure major state interests were reflected and not adversely affected.
On 14 December 2012, council endorsed the draft planning scheme, subject to a peer review. In early January, the draft planning scheme began an intensive internal stakeholder review and an external peer review. The draft planning scheme was then amended to incorporate comments received.
Stage 2: First state interest review
On 19 April 2012, council submitted the draft Mackay Region Planning Scheme to the state government Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning (previously Department of Local Government and Planning) for first state interest review. The state government will review the draft planning scheme to ensure state government interests are not adversely affected.
Planning scheme process and timeframes
The preparation of a draft planning scheme and the submission of the draft planning scheme to the state government for first interest review forms part of the larger planning scheme process, set out in Statutory Guidelines 01/12: Making or amending a local planning instrument. The planning scheme process and council's estimated timeframes are summarised below. Please note, the timing of each stage may vary due to a number of unknown variables for each stage.
Your community, your comment
The next stage of the planning scheme process is public consultation, expected to commence later in the year. This is your chance to comment on the draft Mackay Region Planning Scheme! To ensure you keep up-to-date on the progress of the draft Mackay Region Planning Scheme and to ensure you are aware of the upcoming public consultation period and events, please register you interest here to receive our monthly eNewsletters.
More Information
Want to know what a planning scheme is and how it works? See the following factsheets!
- Factsheet 1- What is a planning scheme?
- Factsheet 2- What is the difference between planning scheme, community plan and the regional plan?
Background studies
There are a number of studies that have informed the draft Mackay Region Planning Scheme. These include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Draft Centres Strategy
- Draft Residential Densities Strategy
- Goosepond’s Creek/Janes Creek Flood Study
- McCready’s Creek and Pioneer River Flood Studies
- Mackay City Centre Local Area Plan
- Marian and Mirani Local Area Plan
- Sarina and Coastal Communities Local Area Plan
- Northern Beaches Smart Growth Plan 2030