Building for growth

The nitty gritty of growth

It’s no secret that Playford is growing. For the past couple of decades, scores of new housing developments have popped up across the city and we’ve welcomed thousands of new residents to our community. This growth will have a lasting impact on the city. Our urban footprint is expanding with hundreds of new houses in suburbs like Munno Para West and Blakeview, and once semi-rural farming towns like Angle Vale and Virginia are being transformed into bustling communities. Meanwhile, established areas of our city are also developing. Older suburbs like Elizabeth and Smithfield are being renewed with ageing infrastructure like stormwater, footpaths and playgrounds being replaced. Growth can be an exciting thing for a city. It brings vibrancy to our community with new residents creating diverse and engaging neighbourhoods. It means a boost for local businesses, a chance to live in modern suburbs and access to new services and facilities.

But it is a double-sided coin, and on the flip side, growth brings us challenges. It can make our city difficult to get around as public infrastructure like roads and footpaths doesn’t always keep up with private development, and services like schools, childcare and sports facilities don’t always meet community demand. Council has a key role to play to ensure the challenges of growth don’t outweigh the opportunities and we build a city to be proud of – both for current residents and future generations who will call Playford home.

Chris Bayley and Cass Kotsoglous of Angle Vale and Paul and Lesley Newitt of Elizabeth East are two couples experiencing the benefits of growth in Playford first-hand.

Chris and Cass recently moved to Angle Vale’s Miravale Estate, from Walkerville and Gawler respectively. “Angle Vale’s a great place to raise a family,” said Cass. “There are options for schools, a community vibe and easy access to Adelaide”. Partner, Chris, agrees. “We’ve got the Barossa on our doorstep and shops and the expressway nearby”.

Fifteen minutes away in Elizabeth East, Paul and Lesley Newitt are also experiencing the benefits of growth.

“Elizabeth is an older area, but with plenty of development going on,” Paul said. The couple returned to the suburb eight years ago after living in the area from 1972 to 1984. “It’s a great area to live with a strong sense of community,” they said.“We walk a lot and have noticed footpaths have recently been improved and roads resealed. The Grenville Centre, where we volunteer for Home Assist, and Fremont Park, are in striking distance. “Elizabeth is busier than it used to be, but you can access facilities easily.”

Why growth and why Playford?

Our region has a history of rapid urban development, starting with Elizabeth in the 1950s – a satellite city that was carved out of the fertile paddocks between Salisbury and Smithfield.

While new suburbs like Craigmore, Hillbank and Davoren Park grew organically around Elizabeth, in the early 2010s the trajectory of growth in Playford changed when the state government rezoned large parcels of land on the edges of our suburban footprint for residential development. Big sections of farming land in places like Angle Vale, Virginia and Munno Para West that were once vegetable crops, orchards or vineyards could now be turned into houses, with 30-years-worth of land supply hitting the housing market at the same time. This triggered many pockets of growth to pop up across the city at once, all which require civil and social infrastructure to support new communities. From new roads to stormwater, upgrading intersections and more sports and recreation facilities, growth places a lot of demand for Council to fund different projects to match the pace of private development. What’s more, Council needs to coordinate development across the whole of Playford, not just in new areas. Established suburbs require renewing too, which put together, creates an environment that demands a lot of Council resources.

When the growing gets tough

What is happening Community experience Council experience Pockets of growth spread across the city, developed by a range of private companies

Some neighbourhoods have everything they need – brand new roads and footpaths and lovely streets. Other neighbourhoods are lagging behind and some even lack basic things like footpaths. Because of fragmented development, it is complex to plan for civil infrastructure on a city-wide basis. Pockets of growth occurring at one time can lead to inconsistent development of civil infrastructure.

Lots of growth happening at one time

There are lots of new houses and residents so roads are busier and it takes longer to get around. Some roads and footpaths can’t cope with the level of traffic our city is experiencing because of all the new residents. There is a lot of attention for resources and a limited source of funding to go around. Funding also doesn’t keep pace with the speed of private development which means there is often a lag between private development and surrounding infrastructure. Council doesn’t have full control to manage when new infrastructure, like roads, are developed. This is coordinated in partnership with State Government and developers.

From semi-rural to urban township

Growth is happening quickly

Renewing existing suburbs and accommodating growth

Places like Angle Vale and Virginia are no longer country towns, but the roads, footpaths and things like sports grounds haven’t been renewed to keep up with the change. Council needs to keep up with growth and upgrade roads, footpaths and other infrastructure more quickly. It’s like they didn’t even plan for this.

Older suburbs get forgotten. All the attention is on new suburbs. Having large, new areas to service as well as existing suburbs to renew is a unique position for a city to be in. It is highly demanding and there is a lot of attention for Council resources.

To fund new things like roads and footpaths, growth deeds are in place. Some deeds are managed by the State Government and are only executed when developments hit certain sales or population reaches a specific level, even if there is community demand for a project to commence.

Council was faced with 30-years of residential land coming on to the market at one time. It makes planning complex. Funding for infrastructure and resources has not kept pace with private development. It would be great to be able to build everything our city needs at one time, but this isn’t financially possible.

Council is working with developers and State Government to design and build critical infrastructure for new suburbs, while renewing infrastructure in older areas so it remains fit for purpose. This year you will see:

Upgrades to Stebonheath Road A new community park in Munno Para West in response to community need A new intersection at the junction of Curtis and Andrews Roads

A State Government traffic analysis of Curtis Road to help determine future upgrades

Stormwater infrastructure along Stebonheath Road, Munno Para, Curtis Road and Angle Vale

More recreation facilities at Angle Vale Community Sports Centre Revitalisation of Virginia Main Street

Upgrade to McGilp Reserve, One Tree Hill Refurbed playgrounds at Pete Smith Reserve, Davoren Park and Gould Street and Dwight Reserves, Elizabeth Park New reserve at Mofflin Reserve, Elizabeth Vale

Paying for growth

Playford was one of the first councils to experience large, fragmented private development. We knew this could mean huge upfront costs for Council to build infrastructure like stormwater and roads needed to support private developments. To make sure ratepayers didn’t carry the lion’s share of this financial burden, Council negotiated agreements which committed landowners and the State Government to partfund infrastructure costs. These are known as deeds and are essential in ensuring that growth doesn’t mean large rate increases to cover the cost of building new or upgraded infrastructure in growing areas. Deeds are executed when land developments hit certain sales numbers, or when population levels reach a specific level.