Wollondilly Shire Council has initiated a draft Planning Proposal to make it easier for property owners to undertake horticultural activities in the Wollondilly Local Government Area, by introducing fast-tracked planning approval pathways.

At its February meeting, Council voted to progress the proposed amendments to the Wollondilly Local Environmental Plan 2011 and endorse the draft Proposal, which will now be submitted to the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Industry with a request for a Gateway determination.

Council Mayor Matt Gould explained, “Wollondilly has a fantastic rural sector, so it makes sense for us to pave the way to support and expand our existing horticulture industry into the future, given the increasing cost of agricultural land in our Shire.”

“We are in close proximity to Sydney and the new Western Sydney Airport, making our local small-scale producers uniquely placed to cultivate fresh, high quality food for the region and beyond.”

“However we know that to do that in a commercially viable way our farmers need to be able to easily leverage more intensive forms of horticulture such as market gardens and hydroponic operations and these changes seek to not only enable that but remove unnecessary red tape so our farmers can just focus on farming.”

“I’m really proud that this Council is committed to supporting our farmers and rural industries. This is a big priority for this Council, and it is fantastic to see some real changes being delivered that will make an on the ground impact for our horticultural producers.”

“I’d like to thank Council’s Agricultural and Rural Industries Advisory Group who were key drivers of these changes and provided great input into its development which was prepared in response to recommendations within the Wollondilly Rural Lands Strategy 2021. Thanks also to the staff who worked so hard on this.”

The Rural Lands Strategy identified significant opportunities for horticulture in the Wollondilly Local Government Area, however the current approach requiring a development application for horticulture was seen as a barrier to primary producers, particularly where horticulture is proposed on a small scale and is low impact. 

Providing an opportunity for horticultural activities to be undertaken as exempt development in the RU1 zone and as complying development in the RU2 and RU4 zones will help encourage and facilitate the establishment of new and expanding horticultural activities in the area.

Council will request authorisation as the Local Plan Making Authority to undertake the plan making functions for this Planning Proposal.