by Shane Sody

The Adelaide Park Lands are subject to at least three layers of official planning documents.

However the current plans are ineffective in protecting your Park Lands from rampant State Government development.

When the State Government decides that it wants to build a school, a hospital, a car park, an aquatic centre, or a police barracks on your Park Lands, then it simply ignores the official plans, and/or changes relevant laws to allow its chosen development to legally confiscate your Open, Green, Public Adelaide Park Lands.

See the ‘Background’ below about the existing, ineffective plans.

So what value is there in yet another official plan?

The Adelaide City Council has been seeking your feedback on a Draft National Heritage Management Plan for your Park Lands.

Unlike the other, ineffective plans, this one might be more effective because it is tied to the status of your Park Lands as a National Heritage Place. This new plan is required by the Federal Government (rather than the State Government) because the Federal Government has a role in protecting all National Heritage sites.

A draft National Heritage Management Plan has been prepared but the City Council is accepting direct feedback on the draft only for a short period of time: until 5pm on Tuesday 28 March.

Here’s the link: https://yoursay.cityofadelaide.com.au/national-heritage-management-plan-for-the-adelaide-park-lands-and-city-layout

If you have already missed the cutoff date of 28 March you can, nevertheless, send your comments to APA (secretary@adelaide-parklands.asn.au) and we can submit them for you, provided we receive them no later than midday on Tuesday 4 April 2023. One thing you might wish to do, is to signal that you support the submission that APA has made.

What feedback on the draft National Heritage Management Plan?

It is a comprehensive document of 282 pages. However you can get a good idea of its intentions from the 9-page Executive Summary. Most of the recommendations would be wholeheartedly endorsed by anyone who Loves Your Park Lands. In APA’s response, we have welcomed production of the draft Plan, and asked for some minor changes, as well as these three significant amendments:

• to insert some discussion or description about how to relate the values of the National Heritage listing to projects (especially buildings) that are proposed (especially by the State Government) from time to time;

• to encourage volunteerism, and community involvement (both APA and Kaurna people); including support for existing programs such as APA's Guided Walks with a Park Ambassador;

• to alter the very first recommendation, to "identify areas at risk of encroachment within the Park Lands and prioritise these for activation projects" on the grounds that this is in some tension with the need to protect the few areas of native vegetation re-generation. We have suggested that, rather than "activation projects", perhaps better wording might be "community appreciation and/or volunteer involvement."

We have also asked the report’s authors, Swanbury Penglase, to arrange a meeting or workshop with APA representatives before finalising their document.

You can read our submission here: (PDF, 5 pages, 194 Kb)

Background: Existing, ineffective plans

The Planning Code - and Zoning

All land in SA is zoned for appropriate land use. e.g. you probably live in a residential zone. However when the State Government wants to build over your Park Lands, it simply changes the zoning of the Park, so that whatever it wants to build is permitted in the zone.

Community Land Management Plans

Your Park Lands are considered “community land” under the Local Government Act 1999 and so must be covered by Community Land Management Plans. However the plans for your Park Lands are routinely ignored by the State Government when it wants to build something in your Parks.

Park Lands Management Strategy

The most comprehensive planning document for your Park Lands is the Adelaide Park Lands Management Strategy, which must be updated at least once every five years. The Strategy is prepared by Kadaltilla / Park Lands Authority, and does not come into effect unless it is endorsed by both the City Council and the State Planning Minister. However the State Government has repeatedly ignored the provisions of this Strategy (and ignored both the City Council and the Park Lands Authority, too) when it decides what it wants to build on your Park Lands.

No State Heritage because no planning?

We are told that one of the reasons why your Park Lands have not been accepted for State Heritage listing is that there is no State Heritage Management Plan for the Park Lands. This has been used as an excuse since the State Heritage Council recommended State Heritage listing back in December 2018.