Media response - Onkaparinga Heights

Published on 13 April 2023

Response to the Fleurieu Sun.

• The journalist requested a comment from the mayor about the state government's approval of a proposal to rename the southern portion of Hackham to 'Onkaparinga Heights'.

Comments attributed to Mayor Moira Were

The renaming of the suburb was a matter for the state government however council is pleased that the name change received overwhelming community support.

Council is much more interested in the planning outcomes in this area, given there are 2000 homes proposed, with 30 per cent of the land owned by Renewal SA and 70 per cent by developers.

Planning and sustainable design come out as a top priority in every community engagement we undertake, but the state government’s planning and design code doesn’t allow council to deliver upon this strong community expectation. We need stronger sustainability and design controls in the code.

We’ve heard our community’s call and responded by preparing an ambitious set of design principles for a 600-house development in Aldinga.

Because the land is owned by Renewal SA, they’ve agreed to go above Planning Code requirements. 

Quality developers have stated their excitement about an opportunity to work on such an ambitious and nation-leading development. 

Unfortunately, without stronger legislation, we can only achieve the sustainability and design standards our community want, when the land is government owned.

At Hackham, 2000 homes are proposed. 30 per cent of this land is owned by Renewal SA and 70 per cent is owned by private developers.

There’s no way for us to require the additional sustainability principles on the privately owned land, which may result in a tale of two cities.

People who purchase on the Renewal SA land will have homes that are comfortable, safe from weather extremes, and affordable in the long term.

People who purchase homes on the privately owned land will be potentially buying lower quality homes that may lock them into high energy costs and low design outcomes for the long term.

Affordable housing is essential for our residents, but we need to shift the narrative from short term, so called “affordable housing”, to long term “affordable living.”

Investing in sustainability outcomes may add a small additional fee during the construction phase, but these costs are far exceeded by the long-term energy savings delivered by properly designed homes. 

Our community have told us that this is one of their top priorities and we are committed to working with the state government—as we have in Aldinga—to deliver this, not just on government-owned land, but in all developments.

We will be seeking to work closely with the private developers of Onkaparinga Heights to ensure that our community gets the best possible outcomes for their new neighbourhood, which includes good sustainable house design, green, useable open spaces and safe access and egress for the new suburb.

ENDS