The Consultant

Ian Sinclair is the Principal Consultant with Edge Land Planning.

Ian has a degree in Town Planning from the University of NSW and  a Certificate in Economic Development from the Indiana Economic Development Institute (USA). He is a Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia and a member of the American Planning Association. He also holds a Certificate as a NSW Local Government Town and Country Planner. He is currently completing a Masters of Town Planning thesis which will investigate and evaluate the methodologies available for preserving agricultural land in Australia.

Ian has more than 24 years of experience in rural planning - 13 in Local Government and 10 as a consultant. Prior to working full time as a consultant, Ian worked for Wollondilly Shire Council where he was the Manager of Strategic Planning. Wollondilly Shire is located on the South - Western outskirts of the Sydney Metropolitan Area. Wollondilly has a mixture of urban and rural land uses as well as a high rate of population growth. Prior to commencing with Wollondilly Council, he has worked as a Local Government Planner for Forbes, Orange and Wingecarribee Councils in both Development Control and Strategic Planning.

Ian has experience in the preparation of Studies and Policies relating to all facets of land development and natural resource management. He has also facilitated many community planning exercises and Strategies and has had a wealth of experience in all facets of Community Consultation.

He has undertaken 12 study tours to the USA and Canada where he has investigated rural and fringe metropolitan planning issues in California, British Colombia, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Ontario, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. He has also presented 9 papers at the American Planners Association Annual Conference on the issues of preservation of agricultural land, metropolitan fringe issues and growth management on the fringe of Sydney and preparing strategies for rural land as well as planning for vineyards. He has made presentations to Community groups and Organisations in America and has made presentations to Conferences and Seminars in Australia and New Zealand on the same topics.

He is a Part Time Lecturer on Rural Planning matters and regular guest lecturer at the University of NSW where he has presented papers to the annual Planning Law and Practice Short Course and given lectures to undergraduates. He also has given lectures annually to the University of Wollongong Faculty of Law and Geography courses, University of Technology Sydney Faculty of Design Architecture Building and Macquarie University Faculty of Science. During Ian's study tours he has given lectures to Universities of Kansas State, New York, Pennsylvania and Tennessee on Rural and Metropolitan Fringe Planning Issues in Australia.

Ian's expertise in the area of Rural Planning has been acknowledged by his representation on State Government Committees such as the Intensive Agriculture Consultative Committee, Sustainable Agriculture in Sydney Working Group and the Hawkesbury Nepean Advisory Committee - Environment and Scenic Quality and Rural Lands Working Parties as well as the Royal Australian Planning Institute NSW Divisional Committee and Policy and Environment and Local Government and Rural and Regional Affairs Committees and the Awards for Excellence in Planning Comittee.

Whilst at Wollondilly Shire Council, Ian was the project manager and architect of the Wollondilly Agricultural Lands Study and Review of Rural Lands. Both of these projects received Commendations for Excellence in Planning from the Royal Australian Planning Institute as being innovative and at the cutting edge of Rural Planning practice in Australia. These documents developed a methodology for assessing land for its agricultural potential and created a specific agricultural zone.

Ian has participated in Community Economic Development Charrettes in Gunnedah in NSW, Wairoa in New Zealand and Attica in Indiana as well as discussing the issues with practitioners in the USA.

Ian presents a regular article in New Planner titled "A view from the Edge" which has recieved a commendation of Excellence in Planning from the Planning Institute of Australia. Topics Covered include:

• Agricultural Land in Sydney
• Rural Land Use Conflict
• Environmental Issues
• Small Town Charrette Workshop
• Catchment Planning
• Legislative Impact
• Strategy Planning
• Dateline USA - Small Towns and Countryside
• Growth Management Strategies for Small Towns
• Noxious Weeds
• What is Sustainable Agriculture?
• Horizontal and Vertical Growth Management
• What is Rural Land?
• Lot Sizes for Agriculture
• The importance of Biodiversity Conservation
• Planning in the USA - the good, the bad and the ugly
• Sustainability Indicators
• Settlement Strategies
• Incentives as a Planning Tool
• Rural Residential Development - Part 1 Definitions
• Rural Residential Development - Part 2 Impacts
• Lifestyle Living
• Bushfire Risk
• Smart Growth or Smart Living?
• What about Rural Design?
• Sustainable Growth Management in Sydney - The Issues
• Sustainable Growth Management for Sydney's Fringe
• Rural Tourism
• Rural Subdivision Minimums
• Rural Local Environmental Plans
• Rural Fringe
• Sydney's Rural Land
• Settlement Hierarchies
• Rural Residential Spraw
• Rural Sprawl
• Rural Zones and the Standard LEP
• Planning for Sydney's Food Security