• Home
• The Proposal
• Assessment Process
• EIS
• Pictures and Maps
• News
• Feedback

Buckland Park application revised

The major development declaration for the Buckland Park project has been revised after a request from the developer.

Urban Development and Planning Minister Paul Holloway says Walker Corp requested the size of the 'country township' housing project to the north of Adelaide be expanded from 1,000 hectares to 1,300 hectares to allow them to better manage water issues on the site.

The independent Development Assessment Commission will determine whether the revised application requires any amendment to the previously published guidelines for an Environmental Impact Statement (the guidelines were issued in September 2007).

Mr Holloway says the requirement for an EIS is part of a rigorous assessment process under the major development provisions of the Development Act.

Previously issued DAC guidelines already require the developers of Buckland Park to address more than 100 environmental issues such as:

• Potential flooding issues;
• Infrastructure issues (water, sewerage, stormwater, transport);
• Water use issues (supply, impacts on groundwater, water reuse and harvesting);
• Possible construction and ongoing impacts on the local environment, including waterways;
• effects on and from adjacent industries; and
• Demands on community services.

The Buckland Park proposal is for a township housing more than 15,000 people on a 1,300-hectare site, between Virginia and Port Gawler.

The proposed plan includes a town centre, shopping and commercial facilities, a medical centre, community and library facilities, sports and recreation facilities, and a school.

"Once the EIS has been produced it will be released for at least six weeks of public and agency consultation, including a public meeting," Mr Holloway says.

"After that consultation closes, the proponent must then respond to all of the issues raised in submissions in a formal ‘Response’ document."

Mr Holloway says after receiving the response document the entire proposal will then be assessed by the State Government before a final decision is made on whether the allow the project to proceed, and on what conditions.

The scale of the proposed country township warrants its status as a project of major environmental, economic and social significance, he says.

"It needs to be stressed that the revised declaration does not indicate the Government’s support or otherwise for the proposal," Mr Holloway says.

"It simply allows the DAC to consider the enlarged scope of the Buckland Park project and determine whether any revision of the EIS guidelines is required to ensure a thorough assessment of the proposal."

More detail about the Buckland Park project and the major developments assessment process can be found online at: www.planning.sa.gov.au/go/major-developments