Have a say on planning for Foster’s future

COMMUNITY members can suggest improvements to the township of Foster and surrounds during a public engagement period that will help the shire put in place a contemporary Foster Framework Plan.

The plan is intended to guide growth and change in the town, with the current Foster Framework Plan based on the outdated Foster Structure Plan (2008).

Planning changes that have occurred since 2008 need to be factored into the new Foster Framework Plan, particularly in relation to bushfire and inundation risk, council’s November meeting agenda states, with the intention being to first create a new Foster Structure Plan.

Community engagement will guide the creation of a draft version of that new plan, with a Foster Structure Plan Review Discussion Paper endorsed by council at its Wednesday’s meeting.

This discussion paper is intended to guide members of the public in understanding the current situation and options for the town’s future, and invite comments for improvements.

Cr Jenni Keerie stressed during Wednesday’s council meeting the importance of ensuring council’s plans are up to date and complement each other.

“A very important thing that we do is to revisit some of the plans we’ve had in the past to make sure we’re heading in the right direction,” Cr Keerie said. 

Mayor Mohya Davies encourages community members to look at the discussion paper, particularly pages 6 and 7.

Those pages detail three potential growth scenarios for Foster, as well as displaying zones identified for future urban residential, industrial, and rural living expansion.

The map on page 7 of the discussion paper illustrates a possible change to Foster’s settlement boundary.

During Wednesday’s meeting, Cr Davies highlighted opportunities for people to share their thoughts on Foster’s future direction, and ask questions.

Public feedback on the Foster Structure Plan Review Discussion Paper will help guide the development of the town’s draft Structure Plan.

That draft document is scheduled to be released in March 2023, with further public consultation to be conducted prior to the development of the final Foster Structure Plan.

“There will be a pop-up event in the main street of Foster, currently scheduled for Friday November 25, and two officers will be present for a six hour period,” Cr Davies said of the opportunity to comment on the discussion paper.

A further session, that would be held in the morning, is proposed for Sunday December 11 at the Prom craft market.

Public engagement on the discussion paper runs until December 23 this year.

In addition to the Foster event on November 25, and any others scheduled, it will involve an online component through council’s ‘Your Say’ page, with a survey, postcards and posters, to encourage and collect community feedback.

Landowners potentially affected by proposed new settlement boundaries within the discussion paper will be contacted by letter.

The Foster economic assessment (2022) of residential, commercial and industrial land, commissioned by council, found that there is sufficient urban land for future development, but additional land may need to be rezoned in future in the case of a higher growth scenario.

While the assessment findings recommended having at least two growth fronts for residential land in order to ensure market choice and prevent unnecessary scarcity driving prices higher, there are some significant expansion constraints outlined.

“The bushfire risk assessment (draft 2020) prepared for Foster found that the existing growth area to the north is severely constrained by bushfire risk and the western growth areas are also constrained by bushfire risk,” the discussion paper states.

It also indicates the southern growth areas are impacted by inundation risk.

Once a new Foster Structure Plan is in place, an updated Framework Plan for the town would then be implemented into the planning scheme through a planning scheme amendment.