Adelaide Hills Council are set to fight a plan to annex two of its suburbs and redistribute them in the new Campbelltown region.
The council received notification from the South Australian Local Government Boundaries Commission late last month that Campbelltown’s proposal to annex the suburbs of Rostrevor and Woodforde could proceed to the next stage.
“Adelaide Hills Council is deeply disappointed for the communities involved given the large majority of them have expressed opposition to being taken over by Campbelltown,” said Adelaide Hills Mayor Dr Jan-Claire Wisdom.
The commission met on 20 July 2022 to consider Campbelltown’s Stage 2 proposal, along with Adelaide Hills Council’s letter in response to supplementary information provided by Campbelltown.
In his letter to the Adelaide Hills Council, the commission chairperson advised that the “…commission formed the view that the Proposal meets the requirements of Guideline 3 and generally aligns with the section 26 principles”.
The commission therefore determined an inquiry into the proposal may proceed in accordance with Section 31 of the Act and Guideline 4 – Investigations of General Proposals Initiated by Councils.
“This is not the determination we had hoped for, but it has now been made and we will immediately pivot to focus our efforts on the formal inquiry process,” Dr Wisdom said.
The inquiry stage is conducted by the commission to assess the proposal against the provisions of the legislation and the commission’s guidelines.
It includes engagement with the affected councils and communities to obtain information relevant to the assessment in order to make a recommendation to the Minister for a final decision as to whether the proposal should be adopted and under what terms and conditions.
The commission has indicated a number of independent investigators will be required and the cost estimate for the inquiry has yet to be calculated.
It will fall to Campbelltown’s new council after the November 2022 election to consider whether they wish to fund the cost in order to proceed. Should they decide to do so, the inquiry is expected to commence some time in 2023.
“We hope the ‘new’ Campbelltown City Council who will inherit this situation will rethink the impact that an investigation will have on the wellbeing of the communities they wish to annex,” Dr Wisdom said.
These residents have already waited through three and a half years of uncertainty since the original Campbelltown Council resolution was made to go down this path.
“During that time the community have stated their opposition in two surveys (conducted by both Adelaide Hills Council and Campbelltown City Council) and will have to go through that all over again if the inquiry proceeds,” Dr Wisdom added.
“They feel connected with the Adelaide Hills environment and are concerned about any potential future push for changes to zoning. Adelaide Hills Council has a good reputation for valuing the open space and ambience that comes with retaining appropriate property allotment sizes consistent with the living standards desired and enjoyed by its residents.”
The commission has invited Adelaide Hills Council to provide comment on the inquiry brief they have developed to assist the commission estimate the investigation costs which Campbelltown will be required to pay in addition to their own resourcing costs.
The deadline is 29 August 2022 and this is the only formal action for Adelaide Hills Council to undertake prior to the ‘new’ Campbelltown City Council considering the costs and deciding whether to proceed.
“I believe that our council is well-placed to respond to the commission’s determination through our recent resolution to establish a Boundary Change Committee in response to the Campbelltown claim,” she said.
“We remain concerned at what we consider to be minimal evidence produced by Campbelltown so far.
“Should an inquiry proceed we would welcome a much deeper examination of the Campbelltown claim and a far more constructive engagement with the affected communities that respects their values, expectations and aspirations.”
