The future of Singleton as a centre for sustainability, culture and tourism shaped in new plan

As well as offering the combination of city conveniences and a rural heartbeat with character-filled villages, Singleton is poised to be a leader in sustainability, post-mining land use and a diverse tourism centre with vibrant cultural spaces celebrating art, sport and culture according to the draft Singleton Local Strategic Planning Statement 2040 (LSPS), now on public exhibition.

Singleton Council General Manager Jason Linnane said the LSPS was an important high-level blueprint that established a 20-year vision for how the Singleton local government area will be in the 2040 in terms of land uses, activities, land forms and built forms.

But most importantly, it presented an exciting and comprehensive prospect for the decades to come.

Mr Linnane said it was essential for Singleton to grow, transform and diversify to keep pace with the rest of NSW, Australia and the world to ensure the prosperity of the Singleton community now and into the future.

“Growing and diversifying the local industry mix, delivering community infrastructure, improving options for housing and minimising land use conflicts are just some of the key issues that have been identified as critical for Singleton’s continued growth and success,” he said.

“Valuing and protecting our heritage, a growing emphasis on sustainability and achieving environmentally sound and aesthetically pleasing development outcomes will also continue to be high on the list of planning focus areas.

“It is insurance and assurance for the people across the Singleton local government area that we are working to create the community they told us they wanted.”

The draft document was created based on input from the community, but it is now equally important for people of all ages to provide their comments and feedback before the close of the exhibition period on 11 May 2020.

Written submissions are encouraged, and Singleton’s youngest citizens are also invited to colour their vision with a Kids Say submission, which includes colouring-in and writing competitions. Plenty of prizes up for grabs, including a $50 Spend in Singleton gift card for the winning entry and a $25 Spend in Singleton gift card for second place.

For more information or to download a colouring in form, visit Council’s website at W singleton.nsw.gov.au

“At its fundamental level, the draft LSPS is a consensus of the long-term vision for Singleton, providing a practical framework for Council to ensure any land use planning is in keeping with the direction that has been set by our residents,” Mr Linnane said.

“And that includes our youngest citizens who in 2040 will be our new community leaders.

“The people of Singleton have a very defined view of what their local government area should look like now and into the future, and, based on consultation with everyone in our community, this draft Statement gives us a very clear pathway to how that can and will be achieved from a land use planning perspective.”

The Strategic Planning Statement is a requirement of all NSW councils and aligns with State and Regional planning objectives.

Singleton’s draft Local Strategic Planning Statement 2040 is on public exhibition until 11 May 2020. Visit W singleton.nsw.gov.au/publicexhibition for more information.