Council has a strong commitment to supporting the liveability and economic prosperity of its region. Accordingly, we need to ensure that policy responds to demands and assists where appropriate to achieve this vision. The project is aimed at protecting character and improving liveability, sensitively managing development, and encouraging investment within the township boundaries of McLaren vale (not the rural areas).

This is a town planning project to review land-use zoning and policy. It is separate to, but complements, the recent Five-Year McLaren Vale Main Street Tourism Vision Action Plan that was developed with the McLaren Vale Business and Tourism Association. That Action Plan was approved by Council at its March 2021 meeting and is intended to encourage visitors to stop, stay and spend, with a focus on gateway and entry, public art, greening and sustainability, streetscape, and public realm along with night-time economy.

This review is not proposing to change the township boundaries as defined by the McLaren Vale Character Preservation District. Instead, the review is looking to:

• understand the community’s vision for McLaren Vale and engage with the McLaren Vale community to understand their concerns and ideas 
• identify key features and characteristics that are important to McLaren Vale as a place to live, work and play
• work out if there’s a mismatch with what our town is trying to achieve in relation to supporting its functions, both as a tourism hub for the area, and as a residential and service centre for the surrounding population
• how best to accommodate planned growth in population, as well as supporting our ageing population and ageing in place
• understand what implications there are for future infrastructure planning and delivery
• ensure that development policy supports economic and tourism opportunities appropriate to the town’s heritage settings and value 
• encourage good quality design outcomes in keeping with the main character elements of the township, including setting, scalability and use of materials.