Context:
The participation and contributing to planning within local government is absolutely key in ensuring the sustainability of George & the Garden Route. Lodging complaints against developments outside the parameters of guiding documents is, at best, a rear-guard action.
The principal planning processes are;
1: The Spatial Development Framework (SDF), guiding spatial utilisation and land use within the urban fringe (5 year & beyond, what is planned where )
2: Integrated Development Plan (IDP), setting priorities, allocating resources for service & development delivery within the urban fringe ( in essence 5 year planning but reviewed annually as to what will get done within defined budget allocations & periods)
3: Individual development approvals are posted daily by GRPA. Objections must be lodged as individuals.
4: GM commissions master plans on subject areas across the service delivery spectrum. These reports are extensively referenced in the above reports. GRPA will continue to request participation & access to these, submit the same to panels of advisors in order to test validity & impact on rate payers interests.
Objectives:
- Establish a panel of advisors to monitor planning processes & associated applications & approvals by GM.
Outcomes:
- To enable members to proactively engage a group within the GRPA WhatsApp community, Urban Development Applications was created, where all land use applications are posted;
- Panel of advisors is in place but additional members are required to monitor nearly daily applications;
- A formal request for information (Rapid Urbanisation) resulted in a constructive meeting, leading to a better understanding of the decision methodologies within GM.
Actions Planned:
- To establish ongoing formal structured engagement with Planning & Development to ensure membership oversight in current approvals and planning cycles;
- Members with interests in urban planning and/or a care for the sense of place within George and the Garden Route need to be identified to join the panel of advisors to maximize GRPA involvement.
