Thousands of trees to be planted across Top End streets

23 November 2011

Thousands of trees will be planted along Top End suburban streets as part of a $1 million Northern Territory Government’s Greening our Streets program beginning this month. Twenty Darwin and Palmerston suburban streets will receive landscape and tree planting as part of the million dollar community investment. Greening Australia representatives will visit winning streets during December to discuss the program’s implementation with residents. In these face-to-face meetings, more detail will be provided about the tree species planned for each area, the schedule of community planting days and residents’ responsibilities regarding maintenance. The meeting schedule and the planting day schedule will be posted here once available. Media Release

We are moving from CBD to Parap

13 October 2011

The Department of Lands and Planning business units located at Cavenagh House will be moving to Arnhemica House in Parap in early 2012. Business units included in this move are Building Advisory Services, Development Assessment Services, Land Administration and Strategic Lands and Planning. There will be customer and staff car parking available at Arnhemica House and extra parking off site.

• Relocation Brochure
• File Access Procedures

Territorians asked about housing needs and preferences

20 September 2011

Territorians are being asked about their housing needs and preferences in a phone survey commissioned by the Department of Lands and Planning. The survey is part of a study that will be used along with existing research, data and consultation to inform Government's future land use policy and planning.

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Updated Storm Surge maps released

5 August 2011

Updated storm surge mapping for Darwin and Palmerston based on the potential long term impacts of sea level rise and climate change has been released.

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Major milestone reached in new land release

13 July 2011

Construction Minister, Gerry McCarthy, is encouraging Territorians to take advantage of the Territory Government’s home ownership initiatives to capture dry season construction opportunities.

“The Territory Government is committed to getting more Territorians into their own homes, and supporting our construction sector,” Mr McCarthy said.

“The ‘BuildBonus’ scheme announced in May provides a one-off grant of $10,000 for homebuyers who build or purchase a new home up to the value of $530,000, including land value.

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National search begins for designers of Weddell

4 July 2011

The Territory Government today announced the nationwide search for architects and planners to design the first stage of the Territory's future tropical city of 50,000 people, Weddell is now underway.

"The search has begun for architects and planners to deliver us a tropical, liveable, sustainable township that will continue to grow and evolve into the city of Weddell," Member for Daly Rob Knight said.

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Major milestone reached in new land release

22 June 2011

Construction of the new suburb of Johnson Stage 2 is set to begin by the end of the year with the Territory Government today announcing Urbex Pty Ltd has been selected as the preferred developer to build the new suburb. 

Minister for Lands and Planning Gerry McCarthy said final negotiations are underway with Urbex Pty Ltd to deliver Stage 2 of the new suburb Johnston, providing an estimated 500 new homes.

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Open for Public Comment - DR AS/NZS 4819 (Rev) - Rural and Urban Addressing

31 May 2011

The public has until 10 June to comment on a draft revised Standard on rural and urban addressing.

Released by Standards Australia, the revision provides accessible and easy instructions for authorities assigning addresses; naming roads and localities; recording and mapping the related information; and related signage issues.

Instructions for making comments are provided within the Draft and need to be made  by logging onto https://www.hub.standards.org.au/hub/public/index.jsp and selecting DR AS/NZS 4819 (Rev) - Rural and Urban Addressing from the list.

The Draft can be obtained from the publisher, SAI Global through http://www.saiglobal.com, or directly using this link:  http://infostore.saiglobal.com/store2/Details.aspx?ProductID=1461019.

More Information

$6 million for the road to Weddell

20 April 2011

The Territory Government will invest $6 million in Budget 2011 to seal the road to the new city of Weddell as part of its ‘Growing the Territory’ initiative.

Minister for Transport, Gerry McCarthy said Jenkins Road will be an important access route to the homes of to up to 50 000 Territorians in Weddell, as well as supporting future oil and gas developments at Middle Arm.

“This $6 million investment will seal about six kilometres of what is a currently a dirt road, providing an important transport link to support our growing Territory,” Minister McCarthy said.

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Budget win for Katherine

20 April 2011

Traffic flow between Darwin and Katherine is set to improve with a $5 million funding boost for overtaking lanes along the Stuart Highway in the upcoming Territory Budget 2011.

Minister for Lands and Planning, Gerry McCarthy said the project was part of the Territory Government’s growing the Territory initiative.

“The Henderson Government is investing in Growing the Territory and providing infrastructure to support our growing regional towns,” Mr McCarthy said.

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Budget injection for Alice Springs

19 April 2011

More than $3 million for additional infrastructure at the new suburb of Kilgariff will be included in the Territory Government’s 2011 Budget, under the growing the Territory initiative.

Minister for Construction, Lands and Planning Gerry McCarthy said the project was one budget initiative for Alice Springs out of the Territory 2030 objectives of investing in long-term growth and infrastructure.

“The Henderson Government is investing in growing the Territory and providing infrastructure to support Alice Springs,” Minister McCarthy said.

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Multimillion dollar Zuccoli project will support local jobs

14 April 2011

Minister for Lands and Planning, Gerry McCarthy slammed the Opposition’s claims that Stage 1 of the new suburb of Zuccoli will be built by interstate companies, saying the joint venture involved local Darwin company BMD Constructions NT.

Minister McCarthy said the Joint Venture  was specifically designed to deliver work for local companies and the project would be delivered by local company BMD Constructions NT.

“ Stage 1 of the new suburb of Zuccoli will deliver more than 450 new lots to help bring down the cost of living for Territorians,” Minister McCarthy said.

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Rural Villages Concepts Unveiled

12 April 2011

The Territory Government today released a number of proposals aimed at increasing housing choice and improving services and community facilities in the Litchfield Shire.  

Lands and Planning Minister Gerry McCarthy said the Rural Villages Discussion Paper and associated area plans have been developed as part of the Darwin Region Land Use Plan and suggest creating rural villages at Berry Springs, Humpty Doo, Howard Springs, Coolalinga/ Freds Pass, and Noonamah.

“We are consulting with the rural community on our concept plans for shops, services, housing and community centres throughout the rural area”.

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Kilgariff - Diverse, Sustainable, Connected

6 April 2011

Providing housing choice, keeping costs for home buyers down and celebrating Alice Springs’ natural environment are critical.  Also important is ensuring Kilgariff is connected and attractive to protect amenity for residents.

These were some of the issues raised by the community and planning and design experts at the Kilgariff Enquiry By Design Forum, which finished at the Alice Springs Convention Centre this afternoon after an intense three-and-a-half day workshop.

Eighty community representatives, designers, planners and architects participated in the forum, which was tasked with devising five possible design scenarios for Kilgariff.

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Have your say on the Greater Darwin Region Land Use Plan

17 March 2011

Territorians are invited to have their say on the Territory Government’s Greater Darwin Region Land Use Plan Towards 2030 consultation paper.

Planning Minister Gerry McCarthy said the Territory Government is holding a series of public meetings across the Territory for people to find out more about the plan.

The first round of public meetings include:

• Wagait Beach Community Centre, 6.30pm 22 March 2011
• Palmerston Library Community Room, 5.30pm 23 March 2011
• Darwin City Council Function Room at 5.30pm 4 April 2011

Meetings will also be held at Berry Springs, Noonamah, Humpty Doo, Bees Creek, Howard Springs.

Read the Media Release

Planning For A Better Future In Darwin CBD

8 March 2011

Planning Minister Gerry McCarthy has approved an amendment to the NT Planning Scheme that will make housing in Darwin’s CBD more affordable.

The NT Planning scheme has previously required two parking spaces per unit but the amendment changes the requirements to:

• 1 parking space per bedsit and one bedroom unit;
• 1.5 spaces per 2 bedroom dwelling;
• 1.7 spaces per 3 bedroom dwelling; and
• 2 spaces per 4 or more bedrooms.

Mr McCarthy said the amendment only applies to new Darwin CBD residential developments.

Mr McCarthy also announced that following the 2009 introduction of volumetric controls into the CBD that the Urban Design Advisory Group (UDAP) would be asked to review the controls and report to Government on their impact.

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Residential Building Insurance - Consultation Extended

23 February 2011

The Territory Government has extended the deadline for public comment on draft legislation aimed at better protecting Territory home owners.

Planning Minister Gerry McCarthy said the deadline to provide comment on a draft Residential Building Insurance (RBI) scheme and associated consumer package would be extended from 28 February to 1 April 2011.

Mr McCarthy has also released draft interim progress payment regulations for public comment.

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Greater Darwin Region Land Use Plan Towards 2030 - Consultation Paper released for comment

10 February 2011

The Territory Government today launched its Greater Darwin Region Land Use Plan Towards 2030 for public consultation.

Planning Minister Gerry McCarthy said the Plan will help shape the social, residential and economic growth of the Greater Darwin Region to 2025.

Public information sessions about the Plan will be held in the Darwin region next month.

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Johnston Titles Issued

13 January 2011

Planning Minister Gerry McCarthy today inspected the new Palmerston suburb of Johnston where 85 residential titles have just been issued.

Mr McCarthy said the Territory Government issued the titles last Friday, paving the way for owners to start building new homes on their land.

“This is a very exciting time for the owners of those titles and the Territory Government as residential development continues gathering pace in Palmerston,” Mr McCarthy said.

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