State of the District Report 2011

State of the District Report, 2011

Adelaide Hills Council has produced its State of the District Report for 2011.

What is it:

The State of the District Report 2011 is an encyclopaedic reference providing detailed information on the State of Council's strategic, local, natural, social and economic environments.

This Report is a practical and comprehensive resource for statistics, explanations, history, infrastructure, policy, programs, and references. The Report provides a common reference for use by the community, staff and councillors. It places much of the commonly requested information in one resource, for staff or community use, or for download from Council's website.

What it is for:

The Report is both a compendium of reference information and an annual base for monitoring the complex of elements that are the Adelaide Hills.

As a reference the Report is intended to inform Councillors, staff, consultants, ratepayers and the general public about the history, issues and trends of activities (as detailed below) occurring within the Council area.

As a basis for monitoring, the Report has established a data set which can be measured annually, and will form a basis for trend analysis over subsequent years.

The report is designed:

to inform policy, strategy and program development in Council;
to be a reference for the delivery of services and local information within the community;
to inform business and marketing plans; and,
to inform other State Government Agency's plans for service delivery to residents.

How it works:

The Report addresses five key themes which look at the area in its larger context and in its environmental, social and economic contexts. Together these themes provide a complete picture of the State of the District:

The Strategic Environment - impacts and constraints on the District as a result of policies, infrastructure, and global factors;
The Local Environment - an overview of the District in terms of its administration, strategic intent and policy context;
The Natural Environment - topography, flora and fauna, climate and soils which constrain and enable human activity;
The Social Environment - details relating to the people who live and work in the District, and the 'places' they create and use.
The Economic Environment - details about the economy and investment that underpins the operation of the District.

By addressing the above five key themes, the Report helps residents, policy makers, businesses and community groups in understanding the District's strategic, local, natural, social and economic environments. Together, these themes provide a complete overview of the District, and paint a clear picture of its context and issues.

Why it was done:

Recognising the complexity of the Hills environment, Council CEO Peter Peppin pointed out "considerable staff time is usually devoted to obtaining, checking and analysing basic information from a wide variety of sources for the day-to-day business of Council. This State of the District Report now consolidates all this information into one single source document."

Having a single point source of information about the Hills is also considered extremely important to community groups seeking grant funding, or to individuals looking for time critical information in preparing business or marketing plans for their businesses.

Why is this Report important?

The Adelaide Hills Council area is considered to be the most complex planning region in the State. The Council District is critical to the State's water supply, and it is a major agricultural region with high rainfall and very good soils. Agriculture and water collection do not co-exist easily. Throw in intense residential and hobby farm pressures, high conservation values, numerous recreation venues and heritage places, scenery-based tourism demands, very limited options for economic development, and a large commuter population, and it is clear that good information is a daily necessity in planning for and administering this District with its wide range of important, but conflicting, pressures.

Mayor, Bill Spragg said "this Report is an extremely valuable single point source of information for the Hills community. It will be very useful for sporting clubs and community associations looking for data to support grant applications. Most importantly it is an excellent resource to ensure that Councillors, staff and the community have a common understanding of the District.

"Having a standard resource of information and data to understand these issues and inform decision makers is vital for everything from strategic planning to community grants to conservation practice to local business marketing to building location decisions, and Council is involved in all of these activities in some way," said Mayor Spragg.

To view the report on-line click here or drop into one of Council's Libraries at either Woodside, Stirling or Gumeracha to view a hard copy version.

For further information in this regard, please do not hesitate to contact Mike Flehr, Senior Strategic & Statutory Planner, on 8408 0503 or Mabel John, Policy & Projects Planner on 8408-0559.

Peter Peppin
Chief Executive Officer
14 October 2011