AGY-4089 | Clarence Valley Council

Full description

Clarence Valley Council was a local government body in the north of the eastern division of New South Wales, constituted under the Local Government Act 1993 (Act No.30, 1993) and subsequent legislation. It was formed on 25 February 2004 with the amalgamation of the local government areas of Copmanhurst, Grafton City, Maclean and Pristine Waters. (1) The Clarence Valley local government area bordered the areas of Bellingen Shire and Coffs Harbour City to the south; Tenterfield Shire, Glen Innes Severn and Guyra Shire to the west; and Kyogle and Richmond Valley to the north.

Amalgamation of local bodies in the Clarence region had been under discussion since the 1990s, and potential for further reform had been noted by the Boundaries Commission when Pristine Waters was created in 2000. (2) As part of the amalgamation, some of Pristine Waters' territory was added to Coffs Harbour; some of Copmanhurst to Richmond Valley; and some of Richmond Valley to Clarence Valley. The first election for the Clarence Valley Council was set for 5 March 2004, until which it was managed by an administrator. There were nine councillors and no ward divisions. (3)

The creation of Clarence Valley Council dissolved the county councils of Clarence Valley and Lower Clarence/North Coast Water, as their operations no longer required cooperation across different local bodies. The loss of territory from the former Copmanhurst meant that Clarence Valley did not become a member of the Far North County Council. (4)

In June 2004 a further 39 square kilometres of Richmond Valley were transferred to Clarence Valley Council, and revised boundaries of both areas were published. (5) A minor adjustment was made in 2005 with the move of three hectares from Coffs Harbour to Clarence Valley (6), and another in 2008 of 3.37 hectares from Armidale Dumaresq to Clarence Valley. (7)

As of 2015, the Clarence Valley Council continued to have nine councillors. (8)

Endnotes
1. NSW Government Gazette No.46, 25 February 2004, pp.809-22.
2. Department of Local Government annual report 1999/2000, p.60.
3. NSW Government Gazette, Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. NSW Government Gazette No.98, 18 June 2004, pp.3794-96.
6. NSW Government Gazette No.157, 16 December 2005, p.11119.
7. NSW Government Gazette No.12, 1 February 2008, pp.464-67; corrected in NSW Government Gazette No.33, 14 March 2008, p.2281 (substituting DP623562 for DP623563).
8. Clarence Valley Council website: http://www.clarence.nsw.gov.au/cp_themes/metro/page.asp?p=DOC-KCR-17-10-14; (accessed 4 May 2015).