Dear Editor,

The latest and probably last Holtze draft plan appears to be another done deal.

I have found that over the years, that no matter how many times I have put in a submission, I believe it is mostly a waste of time as the planners and developers win, and the community is just a statistic to show that the department has consulted.

The latest plan seems to say the size of blocks in the new Holtze area will be decided by developers not the government, meaning that developers will squeeze as many blocks out of the land as possible and the idea of a sustainable, cool, and tropical suburb will just be a dream.

The government should set the plans not the developers, with no blocks under 600sqm.

They should use Leanyer as a good example of a well planned suburb.

There is no mention in the plan of planning for a new aged-care facility near the Palmerston Regional Hospital.

This is the best place for it; a bush setting, that would allow it to service both the rural area and the suburbs, and be close to the hospital.

There is also a plan that traffic from the new Holtze suburb should be directed through the rural area and across a wetland of a branch of the Howard River to Coolalinga, destroying not only the wetland but the amenity of those living in the rural area where this road would pass.

No matter how many times you say no, the planners say yes. Obviously they don’t live here.

The government has planned a cross road across Howard Springs Rd to connect Holtze with Madsen Rd, even though a cross road would just be another traffic hazard and cut the old Inpex village into two.

And the plan, once again shows a suburb around the new Don Dale youth detention centre near the main prison.

This makes no sense, considering that the reason the old Don Dale at Berrimah is being shut down is because a developer told the government they didn’t want houses built near that facility.

Now the government plans to put suburban houses next to the new facility.

These issues were mentioned before but they have fallen on deaf ears as seen by the draft plan.

The government has been quiet on promoting this plan perhaps hoping not much will happen but hopefully others will be awake and put in their concerns by October 6.

– Gerry Wood, Howard Springs

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