In an interesting development, the Secretary of the Jamberoo Valley Residents & Ratepayers Association, Graham Pike, reports that the National Trust is intending to nominate the Jamberoo escarpment, village and valley for listing on the NSW Heritage Register as a Heritage Conservation Area (HCA).

“Formal listing as a HCA gives the declared area statutory or legal protection under the Heritage Act and the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act from conventional and/or unsympathetic residential developments and subdivisions,” says Mr Pike. The area would be additionally protected by its inclusion in the Kiama Local Environment Plan (LEP), as was recently the case with the Pheasant Point HCA, and the new Jamberoo Development Control Plan (DCP).

“While the National Trust NSW is actively working on the listing, it advises that if listing is successful, it can take up to about two years to achieve,” he says.

The news comes at the end of the round of workshops held by Council to familiarise residents with the purpose and limitations of a DCP and gather their ideas about what should be included.

Council’s Strategic Planner Mark Lyndon says participants stressed the importance of larger back yards, single occupancy on blocks, wide leafy streets and maintaining view-lines to the farmland and mountains. He is confident controls can be put into place to achieve most of these goals, particularly in new developments.

People wishing to make submissions on the Draft DCP have until 29 September.

Council is also encouraging residents to complete a related survey.

The survey is available at http://www.kiama.nsw.gov.au