Kosciuszko National Park Draft Amendment to the Plan of Management Snowy Mountains Special Activation Precinct
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
NSW NATIONAL PARKS & WILDLIFE SERVICE Kosciuszko National Park Draft Amendment to the Plan of Management Snowy Mountains Special Activation Precinct environment.nsw.gov.au © 2021 State of NSW and Department of Planning, Industry and Environment With the exception of photographs, the State of NSW and Department of Planning, Industry and Environment are pleased to allow this material to be reproduced in whole or in part for educational and non-commercial use, provided the meaning is unchanged and its source, publisher and authorship are acknowledged. Specific permission is required for the reproduction of photographs. The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) has compiled this report in good faith, exercising all due care and attention. No representation is made about the accuracy, completeness or suitability of the information in this publication for any particular purpose. DPIE shall not be liable for any damage which may occur to any person or organisation taking action or not on the basis of this publication. Readers should seek appropriate advice when applying the information to their specific needs. All content in this publication is owned by DPIE and is protected by Crown Copyright, unless credited otherwise. It is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0), subject to the exemptions contained in the licence. The legal code for the licence is available at Creative Commons. DPIE asserts the right to be attributed as author of the original material in the following manner: © State of New South Wales and Department of Planning, Industry and Environment 2021. Cover photo: Main Range Walk, Kosciuszko National Park. E Sheargold/DPIE Published by: Environment, Energy and Science Department of Planning, Industry and Environment Locked Bag 5022, Parramatta NSW 2124 Phone: +61 2 9995 5000 (switchboard) Phone: 1300 361 967 (Environment, Energy and Science enquiries) TTY users: phone 133 677, then ask for 1300 361 967 Speak and listen users: phone 1300 555 727, then ask for 1300 361 967 Email: [email protected] Website: www.environment.nsw.gov.au Report pollution and environmental incidents Environment Line: 131 555 (NSW only) or [email protected] See also www.environment.nsw.gov.au ISBN 978-1-922558-83-1 EES 2021/0209 First published in June 2021; reprinted July 2021 with amendment to the closing date. Find out more about your environment at: www.environment.nsw.gov.au Contents Have your say 1 What happens to your feedback? 1 Your privacy 1 Why amend the plan? 2 Snowy Mountains Special Activation Precinct 2 Alpine resort accommodation policy 4 Parkwide accommodation policy 5 How to read the amendment 6 Proposed amendments 7 1. Introductory remarks 7 2. Statutory framework 10 3. The accommodation narrative 13 4. The visitation narrative 17 5. Special Activation Precinct development sites 25 6. Bed numbers (non-resorts) 33 7. Bed number (resorts) 34 8. Environmental management 37 9. Schedule 12 – extracts of the SAP Master Plan 41 iii List of figures Figure 1 SAP sub precincts, SAP investigation area and LEP zoning 4 Figure 2 Charlotte Pass Village 42 Figure 3 Perisher Village 43 Figure 4 Smiggin Holes 44 Figure 5 Guthega 45 Figure 6 Thredbo Village 46 Figure 7 Thredbo East 47 Figure 8 Thredbo Ranger Station 48 Figure 9 Sponars Chalet, Diggers Creek 49 Figure 10 Ski Rider, Wilsons Valley 50 Figure 11 Kosciuszko Mountain Retreat (Tourist Park), Sawpit Creek 51 Figure 12 Island Bend 52 Figure 13 Waste Point (Creel Bay) 53 iv Kosciuszko National Park Draft Amendment to the Plan of Management Snowy Mountains Special Activation Precinct Have your say National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) proposes to amend the Kosciuszko National Park Plan of Management under Section 73B of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974. We want to know what you think about this draft plan amendment. To give us feedback, please send a written submission via: the online submission form at www.environment.nsw.gov.au/get-involved/have-your- say email to [email protected] post to Manager, Planning Evaluation and Assessment, Locked Bag 5022, Parramatta NSW 2124. Written submissions must be received by 23 August 2021. To help us make the best use of your feedback: • Please tell us what issue or part of the amendment you are talking about. You can do this to include the section heading and/or page number from the amendment in your submission. • Tell us how we can make the amendment better. You may want to tell us what you know about the park or how you or other people use and value it. We are happy to hear any ideas or comments and will consider them all, but please be aware that we cannot always include all information or ideas in the final plan. What happens to your feedback? Step 1: At the close of the public exhibition period, we consider all submissions and prepare a submissions report. Multiple submissions received by the same author will be counted as a single submission. Step 2: We provide the relevant local advisory committee and the National Parks and Wildlife Advisory Council with the draft amendment, all the submissions and the submissions report. They consider the documents, make comments on the amendment or suggest changes, and provide advice to the Minister for Energy and the Environment. Step 3: The Minister considers the amendment, submissions and advice, makes any necessary changes and decides whether to adopt the amendment under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974. Your privacy Your submission will be provided to two advisory bodies. Your comments on the draft amendment may include personal information. The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment complies with the NSW Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998, which regulates the collection, storage, quality, use and disclosure of personal information. For details, see Privacy and security. Information that identifies you may be gathered when you use our website or send us an email. 1 Kosciuszko National Park Draft Amendment to the Plan of Management Snowy Mountains Special Activation Precinct If you indicate in your written submission that you object to your submission being made public, we will ask you before releasing your submission in response to any access applications under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009. Why amend the plan? The Kosciuszko National Park Plan of Management was adopted in 2006. Section 73B of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (NPW Act) enables the Minister to amend a plan of management. Changes are proposed to the Kosciuszko National Park Plan of Management to better manage and service park visitation. Park visitation has more than doubled since the plan was adopted in 2006, which places pressure on management to both provide opportunities for visitors to experience the park and protect its environment from the potential impacts of increased visitation. This amendment proposes to enable the core elements of the Snowy Mountains Special Activation Precinct (SAP) and adjust parkwide policy on built accommodation. Other minor amendments which directly or indirectly relate to these purposes are also included in this document. The Snowy Mountains SAP Master Plan is being managed and delivered by the Department of Regional NSW. The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service has been an active participant in its development, and these amendments to the Kosciuszko National Park Plan of Management reflect the required updates to ensure integration between the two planning documents Changes in park visitation Park visitation has more than doubled since the plan was adopted in 2006, and there is demand for an increase in the diversity of visitor experiences offered in the park. The NSW Government aims to facilitate a wider range of activities and accommodate more visitors to the park to enable greater access to the park’s natural and cultural values, meet visitor expectations and help maintain facilities. An increase in year-round offerings in the park would also counterbalance the anticipated medium-term decline in snow-based recreation due to climate change. It would address a sharply seasonal visitation profile, which impacts community building, impacts business sustainability and is an inefficient use of accommodation stocks. The SAP process provides an opportunity to achieve the significant volume of strategic planning and analysis required to guide and set conditions and limits for future development in the alpine resorts and surrounding visitor nodes. A new accommodation narrative is now proposed, made in the context of the latest park information on natural and cultural heritage, visitation patterns, visitor expectations and climate change. Snowy Mountains Special Activation Precinct The Snowy Mountains Special Activation Precinct is a whole of government planning initiative which seeks to address the extreme seasonality of the Snowy Mountains region by promoting summer and year-round visitation while still supporting snow sport and snow play activities. Special activation precincts are place-based planning mechanisms used to ‘activate’ strategic locations in regional NSW through infrastructure investment and fast-tracked, streamlined planning, with the aim of facilitating job creation and economic development. 2 Kosciuszko National Park Draft Amendment to the Plan of Management Snowy Mountains Special Activation Precinct The Snowy Mountains SAP program follows the progression of the Parkes and Wagga Wagga SAPs. Priorities for the Snowy Mountains SAP are to: • celebrate the unique cultural and environmental attributes that attract three-quarters of a million visitors annually to the region • revitalise the Snowy Mountains into a year-round tourist destination • reaffirm the region as Australia’s Alpine Capital, with Jindabyne at its heart. The revitalisation will focus on year-round adventure and eco-tourism, improving local and regional transport connectivity, moving to become carbon neutral, increasing the lifestyle and wellbeing activities on offer, and supporting Jindabyne’s growth as Australia’s national winter Olympics training base.