At its October General Meeting, Council approved amendments to the Palerang Development Control Plan Fencing Requirements in Rural, Environmental Protection and Rural Residential Areas. The amendments only apply to the minimum fencing requirements for new subdivisions, with a goal of providing more wildlife-friendly fencing in areas where higher fencing standards are unnecessary.
When the amendments were first proposed, there was a degree of misunderstanding with respect to how the new standards would be applied. It is important to understand two aspects of the changes:
First, the new, lower fencing standard only applies to new fencing in new subdivisions. There is no requirement to change any existing fencing, anywhere, as a result.
Second, the standard is simply a minimum standard—it does not prohibit the implementation of fencing of a higher standard.
The new standards remove any requirement for the use of barbed wire and ringlock or hinge-joint fencing. The height of the bottom wire has also been raised to 300mm above the ground, with the result that the minimum number of wires in a fence in a new subdivision has been reduced from five to four.
In rural residential areas, fences using barbed wire are not exempt development and require development consent from Council.
The fencing standard applies to fencing on all road frontages and public open space areas in a new subdivision.
Note that, regardless of these minimum standards, control of stock is the responsibility of the land or stock owner, and fencing of an appropriate standard must always be provided to achieve this end.