Welcome to the Australian Local Food System Policy Database. This is a collection of policies from New South Wales (NSW) and Victorian local governments that relate to healthy, sustainable, and equitable food systems.
For further information about using the database and how it was created see How to use the database. You can search the database by using the fields below. Domain refers to eight broad categories under which various topics are situated. The domains and topics are based on a framework of recommendations for local government action on creating a healthy, sustainable, and equitable food system (also located on the ‘How to use the database’ page linked above).
To cite the database: Reeve B, Carrad A, Rose N, Charlton K & Aguirre-Bielschowsky I (2021) Australian Local Food System Policy Database. Available at: https://law-food-systems.sydney.edu.au/policy-database (access date).
Suggested search terms
Hold Ctrl to select multiple terms. Using ‘any words’ functions as an “OR” search. Using ‘all words’ functions as and “AND” search.
Search Criteria:
| Document title | Relevant text in the policy | Domain | Topic | State | Local Government name | Council type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bathurst Region Rural Strategy | 6.5.2 Alluvial Soils Alluvial soils are generally located along the Macquarie River floodplain. They can generally be identified as land suitability class 1 and some class 2 lands and land capability class 1. Section 5.1 makes recommendations for the protection of these lands because of their high agricultural value. In particular no further subdivision of these lands for rural lifestyle living purposes should occur | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Rural Strategy | Key Strategic Objectives Minimise the fragmentation of agricultural lands, protect highly valued lands and encourage the consolidation of small holdings. Key Recommendations • Adopt the following minimum lot sizes: 1. 300ha – general rural zone 2. 40ha – market garden zone 3. 200ha – rural lands at Mt Panorama • Do not permit new rural lifestyle living subdivision on highly valued agricultural lands (land suitability classes 1 and 2 and land capability classes 1,2 and 3) • Do not permit new rural lifestyle living subdivision of holdings generally greater than 100ha. | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Rural Strategy | Priorities adopted by the Strategy To determine the best way to: • Protect and enhance agricultural lands. | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Rural Strategy | Priority: To determine the best means to protect alluvial soils as an important agricultural resource and to minimise the impacts of flooding on human settlement patterns. State Government Response Need to identify environmentally sensitive lands including all flood prone lands. Community Response No specific response made. Strategic Objectives 1. To minimise the impacts of flooding on human settlement patterns. Recommended Actions: a. Do not permit new rural lifestyle living subdivision or village expansion on lands within the probable maximum flood. b. Prior to rezoning land for village expansion purposes or development proceeding, Council should quantify the extent, if any, of the probable maximum flood for each village location and particularly for Wattle Flat, Peel and Rockley. 2. To protect alluvial soil as a resource for agricultural land uses. Recommended Actions: a. Do not permit new rural lifestyle living subdivision of lands within land suitability class 1 or land capability class 1 and 2. Do not permit new rural lifestyle living subdivision of lands within land suitability class 2 or land capability class 3 unless there are extenuating circumstances to support such a proposal. | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Rural Strategy | Priority: To determine the best means to protect alluvial soils as an important agricultural resource and to minimise the impacts of flooding on human settlement patterns. The following key issues require consideration in order to determine how best to achieve this priority. • Identify known flood prone lands that may impact on settlement growth. • Identify high quality agricultural lands, alluvial soils. | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Rural Strategy | Priority: To determine the best way to protect and enhance agricultural lands. | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Rural Strategy | Protect alluvial soils as an important agricultural resource and to minimise the impacts of flooding on human settlement patterns. | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Rural Strategy | Section 5.1 of this report recommends a minimum allotment size of 300 hectares for the rural zone. At a minimum 300 hectares, farm size may start to be large enough to enable areas of biodiversity to be left largely unaltered. The recommended minimum allotment size would therefore help to achieve the dual aims of protecting agricultural lands from fragmentation and protecting areas of high biodiversity conservation value. The rural zone objectives therefore need to incorporate appropriate biodiversity values | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Rural Strategy | Strategic Objectives 1. To adopt a settlement strategy that includes the concentration of new living opportunities within and close to the existing villages and settlement areas, where appropriate, so as to improve the viability of these centres, minimise impacts on agricultural lands and enable concentrated service provision. | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Rural Strategy | Support the production of agricultural education material aimed at the better management of farm enterprises. | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Rural Strategy | the Strategy adopts the following priority. Priority: To determine the best way to protect and enhance agricultural lands. The following key issues require consideration in order to determine how best to achieve this priority. • Fragmentation and loss of agricultural land and minimum allotment size. • A landowners “right” to subdivide. • Protection of agricultural land from competing and conflicting particularly residential land uses. • The appropriateness and need for subdivision and housing for intensive agricultural activities. • Encouraging the consolidation of small holdings. • Permissibility of uses in rural zones. | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Rural Strategy | To adopt a settlement strategy that includes the concentration of new living areas within and close to the existing villages and settlement areas, where appropriate, so as to improve the viability of these impacts on agricultural centres, minimise lands and enable concentrated service provision. | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Rural Strategy | To adopt a settlement strategy that includes the concentration of new living areas within and close to the existing villages and settlement areas, where appropriate, so as to viability of these impacts on agricultural improve the and centres, minimise lands enable concentrated service provision. | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Rural Strategy | To adopt a settlement strategy that includes the concentration of new living opportunities within and close to the existing villages and settlement areas, where appropriate, so as to improve the viability of these centres, minimise impacts on agricultural lands and enable concentrated service provision | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Rural Strategy | To supply rural lifestyle living in an appropriate form that will minimise its impacts on agriculture and maximise the concentration of population at existing village and settlement locations. | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Rural Strategy | To supply rural lifestyle living in an appropriate form that will minimise its impacts on agriculture and maximise the concentration of population at existing villages and settlement locations. | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Urban Strategy | 7.3 Housing Choice and Affordability • Provide additional opportunities for medium density housing within the City and hence reduce the City’s environmental footprint. This will ensure there is appropriate housing choice and affordability as the population ages. | Social Policy | Affordable housing | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Urban Strategy | 7.3 Housing Choice and Affordability • Provide additional opportunities for medium density housing within the City and hence reduce the City’s environmental footprint. This will ensure there is appropriate housing choice and affordability as the population ages. • Reduce the City’s environmental footprint and prevent urban sprawl. | Social Policy | Affordable housing | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Urban Strategy | Priority: To determine the best means to provide housing choice and affordability through the provision of medium density housing. | Social Policy | Affordable housing | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Urban Strategy | Provide additional opportunities for medium density housing within the City. This will ensure there is appropriate housing choice and affordability as the population ages. | Social Policy | Affordable housing | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Urban Strategy | Strategic Objectives 1. Provide additional opportunities for medium density housing within the City. This will ensure there is appropriate housing choice and affordability as the population ages. Recommended Actions: a) Provide the following residential density precincts for different classes of housing within the City under the Comprehensive LEP Planning Framework. | Social Policy | Affordable housing | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Urban Strategy | To determine the best means to provide housing choice and affordability through the provision of medium density housing. | Social Policy | Affordable housing | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Urban Strategy | 3. Consideration of landscape suitability when identifying areas for urban expansion When identifying areas for urban expansion, land identified as agricultural land suitability Class 4 and 5 should be avoided. The risk of salinity of these classes of land is considered moderate to very severe and any activities resulting in the clearing or removal of vegetation must be avoided. These areas could be better enhanced as open space areas/corridors and their protection, revegetation and rehabilitation should be encouraged | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Urban Strategy | 3. To encourage landuse systems and management practices that operate within the suitability of the landscape. Recommended Actions: a) Do not permit urban development on land identified as agricultural land suitability class 4 and class 5. These areas should be retained for open space and their protection, revegetation and rehabilitation should be encouraged | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Urban Strategy | Any development of this site would need to consider the Class 1 and 2 agricultural within and adjoining the Site and identity growth opportunities that minimize the loss of prime agricultural land and protect land that can be retained for agricultural purposes. A buffer between this site and the land to the south (Class 1 agricultural land) would need to be established to enable its long term protection for agriculture. | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Urban Strategy | Any future consideration of this site for residential purposes would need to carefully consider the protection of Class 1 and 2 agricultural land adjoining and within the site. Intensive agriculture is currently a permissible land use within both the rural and market garden zones. Historically community opposition to intensive agricultural pursuits along Eleven Mile Drive recognises a perception that intensive agricultural activities in proximity to the City’s urban areas is inappropriate and future residential development should be located away from these uses. | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Urban Strategy | Currently identified as flood prone land, further study into flood protection opportunities would be required prior to development. The Site currently retains a rural zoning and is identified as Class 1 agricultural land. NSW Agriculture recommend the protection of Class 1 agricultural land from incompatible development and its conversion to non-agricultural uses. Rural residential resident groups have been opposed to further industrial development in close proximity to the Wallaroi and Blue Ridge Estates. | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Urban Strategy | Do not permit urban development on land identified as agricultural land suitability class 4 and class 5. | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Urban Strategy | Given the significance of the Macquarie River floodplain to vegetable production (see Bathurst Region Rural Strategy), it is apparent that agricultural land class 1 and as much as possible of agricultural land class 2 should be protected from alienation and conversion to non-agricultural uses. | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |
| Bathurst Region Urban Strategy | it is not considered appropriate to permit rezoning of existing rural lands for urban or rural residential purposes on the Macquarie floodplain to ensure the long term protection of these rural views and maintain a suitable buffer between the residential and market garden uses in this locality. Refer to Section 6.6 for further information. | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | NSW | Bathurst | Regional |