FAQs

The Blackwater PDA declaration occurred on 30 July 2010 and was followed by the Blackwater East PDA on 21 June 2013. At the time, council requested the declarations to facilitate the management of development and planning during periods of high development activity. Prior to this, all development within these areas was assessed under the former Duaringa Shire Planning Scheme (included Blackwater, Bluff, Dingo, Duaringa and Bauhinia).

Due to limited development activity in the PDAs, Economic Development Queensland (EDQ) approached council to transition the PDAs back into the Central Highlands Regional Council Planning Scheme 2016 (the planning scheme) and under the provisions of the Planning Act 2016 (the PA).

On 9 December 2015, council passed Resolution 2015 / 12 / 09 / 011:

That Central Highlands Regional Council:

1. Work collaboratively with Economic Development Queensland to achieve a hand-over process for the Blackwater Priority Development Areas including, as an interim step, the delegation of ministerial planning authority to council; and
2. Economic Development Queensland’s Development Unit would continue to maintain management of Native Title over leasehold land within Blackwater as well as previous developments undertaken by Economic Development Queensland (e.g. Blue Ridge Estate); and
3. The ongoing management of development initiated by Economic Development Queensland shall need to form part of the negotiations for the hand-over of the Blackwater Priority Development Areas (PDAs), prior to council finalising any amendments to the Planning Scheme to incorporate Blackwater PDAs.”

Subsequently, council requested that the Minister for Economic Development Queensland (MEDQ) to delegate development assessment within the PDAs to council. This request was approved and has remained in effect since 4 July 2016.

Provisions under the Economic Development Act 2012 (ED Act) and the Planning Act 2016 (Planning Act) allow a single process to be undertaken to revoke the PDAs and incorporate these areas back into the planning scheme. This process is outlined in Division 3 of the ED Act. 

What this means is that council will need to propose (through a draft for public consultation) zone changes throughout the current PDAs to align with zones utilised in the Central Highlands Regional Council Planning Scheme 2016 (the planning scheme).

In most instances, the zones under the PDAs will transition into comparable zones in the planning scheme. For example, The Blackwater Urban Development Scheme has five zones (Residential, Centres, Industry, Community and Open Space). The Central Highlands Regional Council Planning Scheme has 17 zones. Zones under the CHRC Planning scheme whose primary purpose is residential use include the “Rural residential zone”, the “General Residential zone”, and the “High density residential zone”. There are many similarities between the residential zones under Blackwater Urban Development Scheme and the CHRC Planning Scheme. However, some forms of residential development may trigger more or less requirements for a development application such as for a duplex or dual occupancy. 

Council will be seeking community input on whether the zone proposed to be used in the future is the most appropriate for that particular area or lot. There may also be discussion around whether particular lots should be rezoned for other uses.

Additionally, there will be some other subsequent changes to ensure that Blackwater’s place and community vision is reflected in the planning scheme, local government infrastructure planning, and council’s infrastructure charging resolution.

Once these changes are “adopted”, any development applications in Blackwater will go through the same processes and work under the same “rules”, planning scheme and legislation that guides development for the rest of the region.

Revocation of the Blackwater and Blackwater East PDAs will provide the following benefits:

• Simplification of assessment processes for the council and the community
• Council will regain control over the long-term planning and development of the PDA area. Through amendments to the planning scheme, council can encourage or discourage different types of development and ensure that community expectations for the future long-term development of Blackwater can be reflected in the planning scheme.
• Properly made submitters against a development application in the PDAs will gain the right to appeal a decision or condition in a court of law.

On 9 December 2015, council passed Resolution 2015 / 12 / 09 / 011:

That Central Highlands Regional Council:

1. Work collaboratively with Economic Development Queensland to achieve a hand-over process for the Blackwater Priority Development Areas including, as an interim step, the delegation of ministerial planning authority to council; and
2. Economic Development Queensland’s Development Unit would continue to maintain management of Native Title over leasehold land within Blackwater as well as previous developments undertaken by Economic Development Queensland (e.g. Blue Ridge Estate); and
3. The ongoing management of development initiated by Economic Development Queensland shall need to form part of the negotiations for the hand-over of the Blackwater Priority Development Areas (PDAs), prior to council finalising any amendments to the Planning Scheme to incorporate Blackwater PDAs.”

The advisory group will be able to provide suggestions in regards to zoning and/or other changes to the planning scheme that relate to bringing Blackwater back into the planning scheme. These suggestions will inform the drafting of the amendment. However, council will make the final decision regarding which suggestions will make it into the draft amendment package for submission to the state.

Members of the advisory group will not receive confirmation of the proposed rezoning prior to the formal public notification period (likely to be late 2024) as this may give them an unfair "insider" financial advantage over people who are not in the group. 

The advisory group will not be able to influence:

• Matters that do not relate to the proposed revocation of the Blackwater Priority Development Areas in order to bring the Blackwater urban areas back into the Central Highlands Regional Council Planning Scheme. However, comments regarding other aspects of the planning scheme may be noted and considered as part of a future amendment.
• The amendment process - Council must follow legislated requirements under the Economic Development Act 2012 and the Planning Act 2016 for the amendment process and how a planning scheme is drafted. 
• Design standards - Infrastructure provision and design must comply with relevant design standards that are dictated by legislation and/ or Australian engineering standards or codes. Examples include the Sewerage Code of Australia, compliance with environmental licenses, the Queensland Urban Drainage Manual and the Capricorn Municipal Development Guidelines.