Tamworth Regional Council sets sights on Stratheden stud land for housing development to cater for city's growth

As part of its Blueprint 100 vision for the future, Tamworth Regional Council (TRC) is seeking to convert Stratheden, a parcel of land north of Tamworth, from rural to residential use.

The majority of the land, located at the corner of Manilla Road and Browns Lane, is used as a thoroughbred breeding facility by highly regarded local stud Stratheden, with the rest used for horse agistment and animal feed production.

Stratheden was identified in Blueprint 100 as a major site of residential accommodation for the growing population of Tamworth and the wider region.

At Tuesday's council meeting, councillors will vote on an amendment to the Tamworth Regional Local Environmental Plan (LEP).

The final outcome will be decided by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment.

Councillor Phil Betts said the proposal is part of a review of the LEP with rezoning to better fit the future growth of Tamworth the main focus.

"They're done through gateway proposals which go to the state government, and they determine whether you can actually change the LEP," he told the Leader.

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"Then that will go out to community consultation when it comes back from the state government. So it has complete community consultation whether the process can go ahead or doesn't go ahead."

In a report to council, TRC's manager integrated planning Genevieve Harrison said Stratheden was identified as a key future residential release area in the New England North West Regional Plan 2036, Blueprint 100, and the Tamworth Regional Local Strategic Planning Statement 2020.

"Modifying the current zoning and minimum lot size has the potential to supply high-quality residential land within close proximity of the Tamworth CBD," she said.

"This is important when considering alternative options may have challenges in relation to urban sprawl and the capital cost associated with the provision of infrastructure."

The planning proposal seeks to rezone the majority of the land to RA General Residential, with the remainder R2 Low Density Residential.

A target of ten dwellings per hectare has been proposed for the R1 zoned land, equating to approximately 850 dwellings.

Approximately 45 dwellings have been proposed for the R2 zone.

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