AFTER three years of delays due to aircraft noise concerns, the wheels of approval are finally turning for the 4500-home Kings Hill development, north of Raymond Terrace.
The council's planning department put a draft plan for the new town before councillors on Tuesday night.
The plan outlines how the new town, to be built over 25 years, will be based around six "mixed use" villages, combining intensive and low-intensity detached housing. When complete, the town is expected to house about 11,700 residents and support the growth of Raymond Terrace as a regional centre. Originally put on public exhibition in May 2007, a rezoning proposal for Kings Hill was stalled by Defence concerns over the impact of noise from the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft, due to be introduced in 2018.
But the Department of Planning gave the council the green light to resume planning late last year.
Earmarked as a major part of the State Government's Lower Hunter Regional Strategy, the council's head planner David Broyd said the plan now before council represented vital progress.
"This is a major milestone for council, State Government agencies and land owners," he said.
About one third of the eastern side of Kings Hill has been deemed noise-affected by the JSF.
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