The Planning Minister has requested the Northern Midlands Council provide more information on its proposed land strategy amendment, which is needed to allow the $450 million Ridgeside Lane development to proceed.
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In March the council was requested to pass an amendment to the Northern Tasmanian Regional Land Use Strategy to create a new Urban Growth Area, and received the support of other councils covered by the strategy.
However, after receiving correspondence from the council on the proposed amendment, Minister Roger Jaensch requested more information before any further consideration.
In the letter, he said state agencies and key infrastructure providers needed to be consulted to ensure any significant issues were avoided, but only TasWater was consulted.
Mr Jaensch said they needed to demonstrate that additional land, beyond what was identified in the NRTLUS, was required through land analysis and growth forecasts.
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He said the proposed amendment clearly showed the loss of permanent agricultural land of local and regional significance, which was inconsistent with the state's Protection of Agricultural Land 2009 policy.
A spokesperson from the Minister's office said the government was supportive of investment in the state, particularly in housing.
"However, it is important that it happens in accordance with long-term land use plans for the region.
"We now look forward to the council providing the requested detail so that the proposed amendment can be can properly considered."
The amendment is required in order to proceed with the Ridgeside Lane development near Evandale as the land was not previously earmarked for development.
In a statement, the council said they were in the process of gathering the information required for a response, however an exact time frame for the information to be provided to the Minister had not been determined.
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Ridgeside Lane, proposed by developer Traders In Purple, includes 447 residential allotments ranging in size from 450-square-metres to 5500-square-metres and 44 larger rural living lots.
The proposal involves the development of a 100-room hotel with conference and wedding facilities, along with a village featuring a cafe, restaurant and cellar door, a sustainability centre, education hub and artisan village, workshops, studios and classrooms.
It also includes a retirement village with specialist aged care, palliative care and dementia care, and independent living units, and botanic gardens.
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Isobel Cootes
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
