RESIDENTS are unable to have their say on Gawler Council’s boundary expansion proposal until the second half of this year, with the scheduled date for public consultation to begin pushed back.
A report outlining the Boundaries Commission’s response to the council’s stage one boundary change proposal was tabled at last night’s ordinary meeting – held after
The Bunyip’s print deadline – with elected members voting whether to proceed with the next stage of the boundary reform plan.
Gawler’s proposal would see the Light Regional Council (LRC) suburbs of Hewett, Gawler Belt, Reid and Hillier and the Barossa Council areas of Concordia and Kalbeeba come under its control.
It would then look to cede its portions on Bibaringa and Uleybury to Playford Council.
The report revealed the commission was supportive of council submitting a further stage two proposal, but in a letter to Mayor Karen Redman, commission chair Bruce Green said that did not mean it would be accepted.

Mr Green’s letter also recommended the council look at submitting a separate “administrative” proposal to deal with boundary changes to Kalbeeba, Reid and Uleybury, where Gawler is looking to cede or take small areas of land.
An administrative proposal to deal
with these areas would be quicker and cheaper for the councils involved and make the larger stage two proposal more streamlined for the commission to assess in the future.
If elected members voted to go through with the plan, council staff would need additional time to prepare this second proposal, meaning residents affected by the proposed change will have to wait until July or later to have their say in a formal public consultation process.
Public consultation was initially scheduled to begin in April.
Later in Mr Green’s letter, he added any stage two proposal would need to include the results of any public consultation and any feedback – positive or negative – from stakeholders.
“The commission is aware that the
council has received correspondence form the Light Regional Council and
businesses in opposition to the proposal,” he said.
“Details of this correspondence and any other significant opposition known to the council should be included in the council’s proposal along with information about support for the proposal.”
If elected members endorse proceeding with council’s proposal, it will reject
an alternative proposition from Light
Regional Council (LRC), which would have seen Willaston come under the
control of a combined Barossa and Light council.
As reported in The Bunyip on February 5, LRC set an ultimatum to Gawler and Barossa councils to withdraw their proposals before February 28, or it would submit its alternative proposition.
At its last meeting, Barossa Council voted to put its boundary reform proposal on hold after an unfavourable response from the Boundaries Commission.
Speaking to The Bunyip Gawler Mayor Karen Redman was undeterred by Barossa’s decision.
“That’s a matter for Barossa (Council),” she said.
“I’ve never taken the view that we
(Gawler Council) are here to tell Barossa Council what to do. It’s a matter for their council and their community to
work through.”