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Planners help reduce neighbour disputes

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Zoe Satherley
Published
17 February 2009
Local government and consulting planning professionals took full advantage of recent training aimed at reducing conflict and neighbour disputes in rural areas.

The training at Ocean Shores, Casino and Bellingen was part of the Living and Working in Rural Areas project and handbook, which is a collaboration between Southern Cross University, NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and the Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority.

Rik Whitehead, DPI resource management officer, said the planners who attended the recent training gained increased knowledge and skills in addressing potential neighbour and environmental issues.

He said many councils now use the handbook as their standard guide and that it could easily be applied to any rural region in NSW.

“In rural neighbourhoods, disputes over chemical use, noise from machinery, air quality, traffic, water quality and damage to local wildlife and habitat can all arise,” he said.

“To make sure they don’t, we need to pay attention to the likely impacts of a development on neighbours and the environment during the planning and assessment stage.

“Planners and other professionals who attended the training really engaged in the development scenarios we put before them.

“We saw first hand the benefits of getting people with a range of perspectives around the table to come up with innovative and practical solutions to potential neighbour and environmental issues using a systematic risk assessment approach.”

Professor Bill Boyd, from Southern Cross University’s School of Environmental Science and Management, said the training was an extension of the Living and Working in Rural Areas handbook which had been developed as part of the project.

“The need for this particular training came out of feedback from people who attended the initial regional workshops which explained the content of the handbook,” he said.

“With increasing competition over land use in the region and continued development pressure, the need to address neighbourhood issues and risk of conflict early in the planning process is critical.

“We have diverse rural areas, with a diverse range of rural pursuits, and there are competing interests. This project has become very much about people and how people, industry and the environment can all coexist in a rural environment.

“Since the launch of the handbook last year, there has been growing interest in ways to address neighbour issues from a variety of groups in the community.

“The response to the suggestions and recommendations made in the handbook has been very positive and many regions are showing an interest in this project.

“It’s a very complex rural environment we have and people need to make informed decisions. The solution is really at the human level and being able to use the experts who are around to come up with the best solutions. It’s also about being neighbourly and having a level of care.”

The book is free and can be downloaded from http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/research/alliances/centre_for_coastal_agricultural_landscapes/living-and-working-in-rural-areas.

You can also order a copy of the handbook by contacting the Department of Primary Industries on 02 6626 1200, or emailing them at wollongbar.office@dpi.nsw.gov.au or Professor Boyd at william.boyd@scu.edu.au.

Photo: Professor Bill Boyd is pleased with the positive outcomes from the Living and Working in Rural Areas project.