Your Development

In 2002 Land Management Corporation (LMC) acquired 15 hectares of surplus government land approximately 8 kilometres north east of the city of Adelaide, nestled between the picturesque linear park and the high speed transit system called the O’Bahn.

The LMC is the South Australian Government’s land development agency with responsibility for managing, developing and releasing land to the market.

In 2004 the Premier of South Australia, Mike Rann announced the project would be a demonstration of sustainable housing development. Master planning was completed in 2005 and resulted in a housing component of approximately 100 homes over an area of 4.25 ha with 67% of the total development area or over 10 ha taken up by open space incorporating an urban forest and wetlands.

Lochiel Park is the LMC’s flagship residential sustainability development and a demonstration of many ecologically sustainable initiatives.

Project Summary

Areas
Development area	15 hectares
Open Space	10.7 hectares
Residential area	4.25 hectares
Value
Development cost	$20.98 million
Land only sales revenue	$14 million
Land only average price	$166,000
House and land average price	$450,000
Program
Civil construction	August 2006 - March 2008
Housing construction	December 2007 - 2009

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Overview

When the Premier of South Australia, Mike Rann, announced this project he made a commitment to sustainable development:

“I want South Australia to become a world leader in a new green approach to the way we all live.  The Lochiel Park Development will become the nation’s model “Green Village” incorporating Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) technologies.”

A framework for delivering the sustainability elements within the Lochiel Park project was developed in 2005 and finalised in early 2006. The framework contains an analysis of national and some international examples of best practice sustainable residential development at the time the project was envisaged in 2004. As a result a number of targets were set for the reduction of resource consumption and waste generation.  Some of the targets set against the 2004 Adelaide baseline average in 2006 have since been amended as follows:
A design target reduction of:

• 66% energy used
• 74% greenhouse gas emissions
• 78% potable water use

The framework has assisted in the master planning and development of many of the sustainability elements within the project.

Lochiel Park is unique in that LMC has controlled the parameters of the development, provided clear guidelines to a select number of builders, and developed tools to assist builders in meeting the design parameters and targets. A collaborative approach has enabled close relationships with industry, universities and experts in their field to ensure that Lochiel Park is at the forefront of sustainable residential development in Australia.     

One of the objectives of Lochiel Park is to better understand the impacts of sustainability initiatives and to showcase approaches that could further educate the industry about the costs and benefits of the moving towards a more sustainable built environment, the impacts of the development against a business as usual approach and to assess its greenhouse impacts.

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Development Phase Actions:

Feasiblity:

• Investigation into sustainability initiatives undertaken by other projects resulted in a benchmarking process for Lochiel Park.
• Concept designs and cost estimates for all major civil electrical and landscaping works were carried out.
• Cost estimates of various sustainability initiatives proposed to be incorporated into the homes were carried out by a quantity surveyor to assist in determining the relative benefits of various sustainability initiatives.
• Registrations of interest were called from South Australian builders with the brief containing specific criteria relating to sustainability. Each builder had to respond with a display home design and provide examples of sustainable housing built by them.
• Preliminary cost information on the homes to be built was provided by each of the builders
• Site investigations to determine site specific opportunities such as diversion of stormwater for reuse.
• Meeting with Council were held to seek support for the preliminary concept plans and to present the philosophy behind the project.

Planning:

• Town planning consultants in conjunction with an architect with specific skills in sustainable housing design prepared a master plan, typologies for each allotments and transformed these into envelope plans.
• LMC facilitated meetings with Uni SA research scientists, representatives from the Energy Division of SA Govt, electrical consultants and ETSA the South Australian electricity utility, “The Energy Group” to plan for the energy reduction target.
• LMC facilitated 17 meetings with SA Water, City of Campbelltown and a number of consultants specialising in water sensitive urban design (Ecological Engineering, Design Flow), civil works design (Maunsel), ground water investigations (Australian Ground Water Technologies), “The Water Group” to develop the strategy for reducing water consumption.
• Lochiel Park Urban Design Guidelines were written by consultants with advice and input from the Energy Group and the Water Group. See copy of the urban design guidelines. http://www.lochielpark.com.au/lochielpark/PDF/urbandesign_guidelines3.pdf
• A consultant was engaged to prepare a Community Development Plan which recommended community facilities, provided strategies for encouraging behaviour change to reduce environmental impacts, how to engage with the community and reduce crime during the development phase.

Design:

Public Infrastructure Design

• Functional designs of the two wetlands were prepared by the specialist water sensitive urban design consultant (Ecological Engineering (now EDAW), see also Design Flow).
• Design briefs were prepared for detailed civil works, electrical, fibre to the home broadband and landscaping design.  The briefs included specific requirements about the use of low embodied energy materials, recycled materials and the use of local products.
• Detailed design consultancies for the civil, electrical, fibre to the home broadband and landscaping works were tendered and undertaken by separate consultants.
• Regular fortnightly design coordination meetings were chaired by the developer LMC.
• Design audits to ensure the incorporation of the relevant sustainable initiatives and the requirements for the use of recycled and low embodied energy materials was carried out by LMC.
• Meeting was held with a local supplier recycled road base and wearing course products and the local council to ensure acceptance of the recycled products.
• Regular meetings between the functional design consultant and the civil design consultant were carried out to ensure the design intent and critical criteria were achieved. This included the auditing of the design to ensure the correct levels in the wetlands were achieved and the diversion of stormwater from existing pipes was done  correctly.

House design

• The builders each engaged with the architects nominated by them in their registrations of interest to develop designs for each allotment allocated to them and to comply with the Lochiel Park Urban Design Guidelines. House and land packages were produced and each builder began marketing their designs.
• An AccuRate assessor (House Energy Rating) played a large part in assisting the builders to achieve the most energy efficient (min 7.5 star) and cost effective designs .

Construction:

Public Infrastructure Construction

• Civil works documentation was tendered and a tenderers meeting held to ensure a full understanding of the complexities and requirements of the design.
• All other public infrastructure design was tendered and contracts awarded.
• Fibre to the home broad band required a legal agreement between the developer and the supplier (OptiComm) to be prepared to ensure the delivery of services.

Home Construction

• The 3 selected builders entered into a partnering agreement with LMC to ensure the delivery of certain outcomes including the sustainability targets, display homes and compliance with the waste management scheme.
• LMC advertised for registrations of interest from suppliers and collated a list of sustainable materials and fixtures to assist the builders in meeting the Urban Design Guidelines requirements.
• Home construction was carried out by the three selected builders to comply with the strict requirements of the Urban Design Guidelines. Regular inspections by LMC as the encumbrancee during the construction phase were carried out.

Lot Creation:

• Lots were created through the land division process involving the closure of an existing road and the rezoning of the land from educational to residential.
• Servicing of lots included recycled stormwater and potable water connections, electrical, fibre to the home broadband and gas.

Completion:

• A calculation of the carbon footprint of the public infrastructure was carried out by LMC using bills of quantities from the civil, electrical, and landscaping works. This will be validated when actual data becomes available.
• LMC will install detailed monitoring data loggers in 10 home in the development to gather data on energy and water consumption and temperature over a 9 year period.

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Site ecology

Lochiel Park emphasises the protection of and restoration of the natural environment. A key feature of the ‘Green Village’ is the way the residential component has been enveloped in a natural parkland setting.

With only 4.25 hectares of the 15 hectare site allocated for the residential component, over 10 hectares have now been incorporated and protected as the Lochiel Park Parklands (by Act of Parliament), linking directly to the River Torrens Linear Park. The open space areas are being rehabilitated to re-establish habitats with planting of over 200,000 trees, shrubs, plants and ground covers. The majority of species are native indigenous species planted in accordance with sustainable landscape guidelines.

This new parkland area includes wetlands and revegetation in the form of an ‘urban forest’, making a significant contribution to bio-diversity enhancement, community recreation opportunities and offsetting the reduced greenhouse gas emissions from the residential green village.

The density of the development is 25 houses per hectare which is nearly twice the SA density average and reduces the ecological footprint of the development site allowing for maximum biodiversity and habitat outcomes.

A thorough site analysis on the land to ascertain key features of relevance including hydrological features, flora and fauna habitats, and landforms was carried out by various consultants prior to and during the master planning. Details of these analyses including a flora survey and the master plan itself are discussed in more detail later.

Water ecology
The Lochiel Park objectives and achievements to date are complementary to the Natural Resources Management Board Plan. Most of the untreated stormwater from urban catchments of 190 ha and 70 ha is naturally treated in constructed wetlands to the south and north of the subdivision area to improve the quality of water entering the River Torrens. Gross pollutant traps have also been installed to prevent hard rubbish from entering the river consistent with the catchment management plan objectives. Many other objectives of the plan including protection of natural resources are achieved in the project.

All contractors and builders are required to provide stormwater management plans and the development will be part a KESAB clean site which has the following criteria including education programs for builders and sub contractors.

The site has incorporated bio-retention pits and swales in the verges and the central median strips. The bio-retention pits and median swales have filter medium planted with suitable aquatic plants and subsurface agricultural drainage to collect filtered stormwater for discharge into the Torrens River.

The civil works contract required the construction of temporary stormwater management systems to ensure the protection of downstream water ways and the wetlands, gross pollutant traps and diversion weir systems are designed to prevent flooding from a 1 in 100 year ARI storm event.

All of the above measures are designed to protect the downstream water bodies and the existing ecology.

The constructed wetlands will be stocked with native fish such as the purple spotted gudgeon and signs will be erected warning people not to introduce any fish species to the wetlands. The water quality and ecology of the wetlands will be monitored.

Land form and ecology
The site has previously been substantially altered with large volumes of fill placed along the banks of the river to create flat useable spaces. Large volumes of the fill material and some natural earth (approx 50,000 m3) have since been excavated to create wetlands as part of this project. The site is essentially flat apart from the western edge adjoining the linear park adjacent to the river and the constructed wetland and being a brownfields site had been previously developed. Therefore little or no disturbance of previously undeveloped land occurred.

Plant ecology
A flora survey of the site was completed in February of 2005 by Kieran Brewer of South Australian Indigenous Flora. The area was traversed by foot at 5 – 10 metre intervals in an effort to locate all indigenous vascular plant species present. In addition, non indigenous, introduced or planted indigenous species were also listed. Planted indigenous species have been listed as introduced as the origins of the genetics of these plantings can not be verified.

A list containing indigenous vascular plant species recorded on adjoining Council managed Linear Park land has been included.

A list of indigenous vascular plant species that are likely to have occurred at Lochiel Park prior to European settlement was formulated by researching past records and present populations which still occur in nearby areas in similar soil types, vegetation associations etc.

The list has been presented in categories i.e. trees, shrubs, small plants/ground covers, seasonally and permanently wet sites, grasses and annuals. A number of these species no longer occur in this area eg. Senecio macrocarpus. This listing is providing a revegetation guide for any envisaged revegetation of Lochiel Park.

The large significant trees contained in the northern portion of the site have been retained. The master plan identifies the winding entry road that was designed around these trees.
The urban forest when fully planted over the previous grass playing fields will recreate as closely as possible the natural landscape that existed prior to development.

An aborist report on Lochiel Park has provided an assessment of trees prior to construction activities to ensure that there is minimal disruption to the ecosystems during construction and recommended which trees should be retained and which may need to be removed without degrading ecosystem integrity.

A sustainable landscape guide to encourage native planting will be provided as part of the welcome kit for residents and is incorporated in the landscape design by Oxigen the landscape architects. The UDGs provide a list of recommended, generally non-invasive native species plants for private gardens. A demonstration display garden is to be planted in the display village with interpretive signage.

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Key Issues:

Benefits:

• Enhanced  bio-diversity through establishment of the urban forest
• Re-establishment of some of the habitats that would have existed prior to European occupation
• Education of industry and public about the ecology of the area and generally how to establish a housing development with minimum impact on the ecology.

Costs:

• Cost of the urban forest including the preparation of the soil, mulching and planting was approximately $350,000 in 2007 and this work took approximately months to complete.

Savings:

• Establishment of the urban forest and wetlands will result in a reduction to greenhouse gas emissions through the carbon sink created in the urban forest. It is estimated that the planting in the urban forest will result in an offset of f greenhouse gas emissions of 10,600 tonnes CO2e.
• The wetlands will reduce the total volume of pollutants entering the local water course.

Risks:

• The large numbers of plants planted in the urban forest were subject to risk of dying during the establishment period.

Barriers:

• The demand for housing land close to the city is a significant barrier to the protection of ecology. The pressure to maximize the number of dwellings placed pressure on the land available for housing, however a political decision to maximise the open space resulted in 67% being allocated.
   

Benchmarks:

• Entirely indigenous plantings.

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Social sustainability

The project is in close proximity to residential housing, a par three golf course, the River Torrens linear park and the O-Bahn bus way, but isolated from good passive surveillance of nearby residents because of the orientation of the adjoining housing, the bus way and the river. As a result the area has been a haven for crime with large amounts of illegal dumping, car burn outs, theft and vandalism for a number of years. This has been a concern for the local community.

Following acquisition of the land at Lochiel Park, LMC engaged a number of consultants to carry out comprehensive community consultation.

Connor Holmes Consulting Report
The report by Connor Holmes was commissioned by LMC to assist in the decision to be taken on re-zoning the land and provide development or land release options for LMC. The consultation program involved individuals, interest groups, government departments, and peak bodies. The conclusions and recommendations favoured residential development and provided the basis for master planning and some of the development initiatives. The appendices include a report by traffic engineer Murray Young on the impact of the project on the surrounding community and many letters, other correspondence and a petition relating to the retention of the existing open spaces.

Following the decision to develop the land for residential housing a steering group comprising representatives from the local community was formed to provide input into the master planning process. This group met on a regular basis until late 2005.

Harrison Market Research Intercept Survey
Harrison Market Research was engaged to carry out an Intercept Survey of users of the nearby linear park.

There is an issue with linkages to public transport and proximity to facilities such as shopping associated with Lochiel Park and therefore a need to reduce the reliance on cars. There now exists a proposal for a local café / convenience shop in the development to help reduce vehicle trips. There is some debate about the viability of a small commercial outlet in this location given the size of the development and possible demand issues. During the marketing phase of the project this may not be an issue due to the higher volumes of traffic expected through the display village, but proving the long term viability of a local shop may be more difficult.

The intercept survey to gauge attitude and possible demand from users of the Linear Park for a café / convenience shop in the development was carried out following completion of the master plan. The survey also addressed some other matters including the respondent’s reasons for being on the Linear Park, frequency of use, mode of transport, and intended destination etc to assist in other planning and design outcomes for transport to and from the site and to firm up proposals for amenities in the project.

QED Community Development Plan
QED were also engaged to carry out consultation with the community as part of their Community Development Plan. Most of this occurred prior to completion of the Plan and involved interviews with local businesses, schools, community members, community garden managers, local council members and many other stakeholders.

The outcomes from the Connor Holmes Consulting report are the realisation of the wishes of the local community by the development of a residential land development with the retention of all existing areas of open space and the creation of an urban forest incorporating amenity and community facilities.

During the process of development despite the earlier consultation, the community raised a concern about the removal of some trees to accommodate a new car park. This was subsequently re-designed in order to retain the trees.

The Harrison Market Research intercept survey has provided guidance for the establishment of a local mixed use convenience shop. The survey asked specific questions about the types of products that would be in demand from such a shop and will form the basis of a call for registrations of interest from suitable owner operators. This research also considered the desires of the local community for various community facilities such as active and passive recreation areas, playground equipment, public art and a fitness trail.

The intercept survey also asked locals about their attitude to the removal of a large line of non –native pinus cannariensis trees on the banks of the Torrens River. Information about the possible removal of the trees and replacement with indigenous species to improve biodiversity was provided in a non-threatening, non-biased manner. The results from the survey indicated that the majority of the existing community (excluding Lochiel Park residents) wanted the pine trees to remain mainly due to their shade, amenity and habitat value.

The QED Community Development Plan builds on the community consultation done by Connor Holmes and extended to wider stakeholders following the master planning process as previously mentioned. It also attempts to project or anticipate the needs and desires of the future community at Lochiel Park from market research carried out by Hudson Howells. The Hudson Howells research included a telephone survey of 200 people listed as interested in buying land in Lochiel Park in 2006. The segmentation of this group into attitudinal types provided guidance for marketing of the development, but also facilitated the prediction of the final demographic make up and personality type.

The QED Community Development plan which is yet to be fully implemented is classed as an “interim community development plan” for a virtual community on the basis that the new Lochiel Park residents don’t exist yet. The plan incorporates a hand book for the new residents to provide information on local facilities, ideas on how to live more sustainably and survive in your Lochiel Park home. It recommends a welcome gift for new residents and provides guidance on the establishment of a community garden, an organic market and comments on the potential uses for the existing Lochend House facility.

Traditional owners
The local Kaurna (aboriginal tribal) community were consulted during the preparation of the Aboriginal Heritage Survey by the author of the survey Mr Phillip Fitzpatrick. The findings of the survey indicated that the area was probably inhabited by Kaurna prior to European occupation and that the area may have been a significant camping site during seasonal travels from the hills to the coast.

The Lochiel Park project manager has attended 2 meetings of the Campbelltown Council’s Reconciliation Advisory Committee established to advice on appropriate heritage projects.

As a result of the consultation and upon the recommendations from the Aboriginal Heritage survey, LMC carried out aboriginal heritage induction sessions with the two major works contractors to ensure education and awareness of the possibility of discovery of remains or artefacts and the procedure to be followed in the event of discovery.

Public Art has been commissioned in the urban forest following a workshop with Kaurna representatives and the local council. The sculptural pieces are a representation of certain aspects of the Kaurna culture from the area.

The Lochiel Park master plan indicates that more than 50% of the housing will be overlooking public open space. The number of houses that will have a direct frontage to public open space or to a road adjoining open space is 64 out of 106 dwellings or 60%.

Community website
The Lochiel Park community website will be used to facilitate the formation of a residents association. With the first residents not expected until late 2008 there is already the promise of a strong community group forming around the community garden. LMC has community and consultation staff available to facilitate the initial meeting of the residents association. The community web site will be the medium for communication to residents.

Significant diversity of housing
The allotment mix in Lochiel Park has ensured a diverse mix of housing options are available. While most of the lots are small reflecting an inner urban density they are all within close proximity to public open space. This will encourage younger families, and a full range of house hold types. The price of house and land packages is considered medium to high by comparison with other developments. Starting prices for house and land packages are approximately $400,000. To provide an affordable housing option, mews dwellings were mandated on certain allotments and a large site at the south of the project to be developed by Housing SA with 23 apartments, townhouses and mews dwellings provides a starting price of around $250,000. This price point will attract a lower socio economic group providing further diversity.

Affordable housing
The affordable housing project comprising a total of 23 dwellings in a community title scheme will provide houses in the price range $230,000 to $440,000. This will ensure a good supply of reasonably priced house and land products and a supply of social housing rental accommodation through Housing SA. Land only prices are available on the internet and start at $138,000.

Community Development Officer
LMC has a community development officer responsible for community development in the Lochiel Park Project. This person is responsible for liaising with the local community regarding any issues during the construction process and establishing the community networks and groups through a proactive approach and through the community website. Ultimately the development of a strong community with decisive and consultative leadership will develop.

It will be the role of the LMC community development officer to monitor the community website and ensure the objectives of the Community Development plan prepared by QED are achieved.

Crime prevention through environmental design
LMC consulted with the City of Campbelltown’s crime prevention consultant regarding the design for the subdivision and public open spaces. Although the master plan had been partially developed and took into consideration the requirements for solar orientation and other planning objectives advice about the need for passive surveillance was taken into account. The plan included a number of narrow rear lanes that were potential crime hot spots. In order to address this it was decided to mandate mews housing (over rear garages) to six allotments in strategic locations to provide passive surveillance over these areas.
Read more on the topic of designing for crime reduction in the Safety factsheet.

Local facilities
A detailed analysis of the local facilities was carried as part of the demand analysis for the proposed mixed use site / convenience shop to be located with the development on lot 61. The analysis identifies the services and shopping available within a 2 km radius from the Lochiel Park site and will be provided as part of the information package for the mixed-use site registrations of interest process. The analysis shows that there are adequate facilities within the 2 km zone, however many of these would probably require vehicle transport. The objective for the convenience shop is to provide goods and services to local residents to reduce the reliance on vehicle transport.

Employment opportunities
Campbelltown contains a number of retail, professional services, industrial and commercial opportunities for employment. While it is expected that most of the new residents will be employed before moving into the new development there are opportunities for change. There is also the opportunity to work from home.

Community centre – community garden
The Lochend house community facility will provide the local community with secure public accommodation for various community activities including an internet connection and meeting rooms.

In addition to this at the southern end of the development a community garden is to be developed in conjunction with the community local community and new residents. This is to commence with the formation of a committee through the community website.

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Key Issues:

Benefits:

• Formation of a cohesive community with a focus of sustainability
• Better understanding of sustainability.
• Reduced risk of the community having social problems
• Improved quality of life through initiatives such as
  • Community garden
  • Community website
  • Lochiel Park Residents association.

Costs:

• Financial cost of $31,000 for the consultant to prepare a community development plan.
• Minor contribution to the establishment of the community garden in time and money
• Cost of the community website was $37,000
   

Savings:

• The community development plan will result in the reduction of crime in the area resulting in a cost saving.

Barriers:

• The project although an infill development is somewhat isolated from other residential housing. Therefore a barrier to integration existed.

Benchmarks:

• Existing benchmarks on social sustainability from other developments considered were in relation to the establishment of the community website, community garden and residents association.

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Estate design

A primary consideration in the master planning of the Lochiel Park development was the solar orientation of the subdivided allotments. LMC engaged specialist architectural firm Energy Architecture and Town Planner Jensen Planning and Design to work collaboratively on the street and allotment layout to ensure that every allotment achieved a minimum number of hours of northern sun light during the winter months. This was achieved through the design of housing typologies for every allotment showing the ground and upper floors and then from these, building envelope plans.

All homes in the development are to be 2 storey and the average size of allotments is only 330 square meters. Therefore careful placement of the 2 storey component of each home to ensure minimal overshadowing of neighbouring house living areas and private open space was essential.

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Key Issues:

Benefits:

• Improved solar orientation through allotment envelop planning
• Reduced crime through design to improve surveillance.

Costs:

• Consultancies with both town planner and architect to develop typologies and allotment development plans (envelop plans).

Savings:

• Reduced energy costs through better solar orientation

Barriers:

• Some reluctance from the builders in compliance with the strict building envelop plans were experienced, and this was managed through consultation and communication on the benefits. 
   

Benchmarks:

• Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design CPTED principles.
• Principles included in Good Design Manual and Your Home in relation to solar orientation.

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Urban design guidelines

The Lochiel Park Urban Design Guidelines (UDG) contain information on designing and siting homes, the sustainability requirements for each home, landscaping and aesthetic considerations. The guidelines provide the mechanism for achieving the project targets. They have a number of minimum standards or “requirements” that are mandatory and are assessed at the design stage and a number of “advisory” guidelines that may be used by the applicant to achieve an even higher level of performance.

The sustainability requirements contained in section 4 provide two options for achieving the minimum standard:

• Deemed to comply method where requirements are prescribed;
• Sustainability rating tool method where a range of different techniques may be applied to achieve a minimum standard in energy and water consumption.

The passive design elements of the house design are regulated by the minimum requirement to provide a 7.5 star AccuRate rating as assessed by an accredited AccuRate assessor. This standard is 50% higher than the current statutory South Australian standard of 5 stars adopted in SA in 2006 and 87.5 % higher than the 4 stars many houses were satisfying in 2004 when the project was announced. The AccuRate rating is a mandatory requirement of both the Deemed to Comply method and the Sustainability Rating Tool method.

House design applications are assessed against the requirements in the UDG by LMC prior to applicants submitting to council. A streamlined process which uses a checklist and standardized forms for communication to applicants is currently in use.
Download a copy of the Urban Design Guidelines here

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Access and Transport

Lochiel Park is located only 8 km from the Adelaide central business district on the linear park which contains walking and cycling paths along a picturesque river setting. It is also located adjacent to the O’Bahn busway but mid way between two interchanges.

The Lochiel Park urban design guidelines encourage the adaptation of car garaging for bike accommodation and workshop area instead of for a second car. The Education and Sales Centre on lot 29 will demonstrate the setup for bike parking in garage.

Visitor Parking in public spaces
The landscaping design includes bike parking facilities in the north of the site in the urban forest, in the centre and at the southern side near the southern wetland. This encourages Lochiel Park as a destination and the use of bikes as a mode of transport.

Pathways
A network of pathways is provided linking all possible destinations around the site including local services, shops, the linear park which provided access to the O’Bahn busway.

Public Transport
While the development is located adjacent to the OBahn busway, it is unfortunately mid way between two interchanges (stops). The busway is a high speed transit system where buses travel on concrete tracks and reach speeds of over 100 km per hour. The nearest interchanges are at Paradise approximately 1.5 km to the north and Klemzig approximately 1.5 km to the south.  Both interchanges are equipped with lockable bike boxes and ample car parking and are located on shared bike and footpaths linking Lochiel Park along the linear park.  A regular bus service provides a link to the Paradise interchange to within approximately 300m of the nearest proposed Lochiel Park home. Negotiations are underway with the transport authority to have a new stop provided approximately 100 m closer to the development.

Project planners approached the transport authority with a request for a new stop to be located at Lochiel Park, however this was declined on the basis that the buses are at their maximum speed when passing Lochiel Park and a new stop would compromise the integrity of the high speed transit system. 

The Klemzig interchange is within walking distance for some Lochiel Park commuters and some may cycle and take advantage of the bike lock up facilities.
 
Lochiel Park Transport Initiative
LMC has a budget of $150,000 for transport initiatives to provide sustainable transport outcomes for Lochiel Park residents.  It is most likely that the funds will be used for the following:

• bike lock up facilities within the development
• signage promoting the use of the linear park.
• contributing to the upgrade of existing paths and lighting external to the development 
• providing funding towards the establishment of a community bus stop within the development.
• bikes for hire or sharing by the local community
• possibly an electric vehicle for sharing by the local community

Community bus link
The City of Campbelltown has a free community bus service that provides services to local facilities. The service does not have designated stops but relies on bookings by residents who are collected at agreed locations along the route and taken to local shopping and other services. The City of Campbelltown has agreed to the placement of a designated bus stop for the community bus within Lochiel Park. The location for this stop has yet to be determined, however it will most likely be in the centre of the development to provide the best possible access. The Campbelltown website has further details.

Car pooling
As part of the community development plan a car pooling program will be initiated through the Lochiel Park community website.  The car pooling facility will introduce like minded people from Lochiel Park with a common destination. The community website provides further details on car pooling.

Carbon credits from the car pooling may be allocated towards the carbon offsetting program to be established for residents through the community website. 

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Key Issues:

Benefits:

• Reduced greenhouse gas emissions resulting from:
  • the establishment of a mixed use convenience shop within the development – this will reduce the amount of vehicle traffic from the development.
  • Carpooling facilitated through the community website www.lochielparkonline.com.au
  • Increased use of bicycles and walking through provision of bicycles for hire and encouragement through signage and promotion on the website.
• Convenience of better linkage to public transport provided by improving the path networks and signage
• Healthy community as a result of the promotion of bicycle use and walking.

Costs:

• Transport initiative funding of $150,000
• Minor environmental impact from construction of the new footpath networks.

Savings:

• Saving on the cost of petrol through the use of non-vehicle transport modes (ie bicycles and walking).
• Cost of wear and tear on vehicles
• Saving on the cost of petrol through the sharing of vehicles facilitated through the community website

Risks:

• Possible danger of meeting the wrong person through car-sharing.

Barriers:

• Lack of knowledge amongst the community about the transport initiative is a potential barrier that will be reduced through promotion on the community website.

Benchmarks:

• A survey of future residents of Lochiel Park has been carried out to determine their current modes of transport for work and school travel and the type and size of vehicles if used. This will be used in conjunction with ABS data on transport to determine benchmarks. Further surveys of the residents are planned through the community website to determine whether this benchmarks have been exceeded.

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Advanced communications

Fibre to the Home Broadband service
The provision of fibre to the home broadband will facilitate working from home. The service will provide a minimum data transfer download speed of 25 Mega bits per second (Mbps) and 3 Mbps up load as standard and can be increased to 100 Mbps symmetrical (both up and download) for high or commercial users within the development. These speeds will allow large volumes of data to be transmitted in seconds making working from home much easier and quicker.

Adequately equipped community centre
LMC has provided provision for fibre optic broadband to Lochend House to facilitate the use of the building as a resource for the community. The building has a number of rooms that are to be fitted out for meetings, presentations and other community uses.  While the building does not have any toilets or wet areas, LMC is installing a composting toilet and rainwater tank close to the building. Ultimately the City of Campbelltown is responsible for the development of this site owned by it.

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Materials and Recycling

Environmentally Responsible Materials
The Urban Design Guidelines regulate the use of sustainable materials for the housing component such as timber supplied from renewable plantation. There was a requirements for the use of recycled materials by the civil and landscaping contractors responsible for constructing the public infrastructure.

LMC engaged a consultant to assist with the incorporation of the “Eco Selector” tool. This tool which is a materials scorecard will provide a performance based approach for Lochiel Park and other LMC projects.

The landscaping contractor used hardwood piles salvages from demolished piers at the Port Adelaide docks in the construction of children’s play equipment and the structural elements in shelters constructed in the parklands.

The specifications prepared by civil engineering landscaping consultants included requirements for the use of recycled materials.  As a result recycled aggregate comprising crushed brick, concrete, and other similar materials salvaged from construction sites has been used in concrete footpaths and driveway crossovers throughout the development. This material was supplied by ResourceCo.

BSmart Bricks
In 2006, BSmart Australia, as a result of the national advertisement (see section 4.2.4 below), registered interest in supplying materials to the Lochiel Park project. The company manufactures low embodied energy bricks from clay, recycled rubble and cement containing flyash without firing the brick. The manufacturing process undertaken on a relatively small scale involves compression of the materials into brick and paver forms.

LMC has signed an agreement with BSmart Australia to assist with the establishment of its transportable plant on a site adjoining the Lochiel Park land and to supply all of the raw material clay from the wetland excavations on site.

This will result in a building material with very little embodied energy from manufacturing or transport as the clay that would otherwise have been transported off site to a dump is retained in a stockpile only a few hundred meters from the final end use building sites.

While not all the homes in the development will use the product we estimate that 30% of the homes will use the bricks for wall construction and nearly 100% of the properties will use the pavers in landscaping.

A small quantity of the 200 x 200 pavers are used in the public realm landscaping at the entry to Lochiel Park.

The bricks will be used in the walls of recycled water infrastructure control room.

Responsibly Sourced and Manufactured Materials
In early 2006, by advertisement in the national newspapers, LMC called for registration of interest from suppliers of sustainable building products. The objective was to provide the three Lochiel Park builders with as much information about sustainable materials and the suppliers of these and facilitate the use of these materials where appropriate in order to comply with the UDG requirements.

Registrations from over 100 suppliers were received, assessed and tabulated for distribution to the builders. A copy of the listing is included in Appendix CC.

The UDG’s recommend the use of Ecospecifier and Australian Environmental Labelling Association (AELA). Refer section 4.1.4 Materials advisory guidelines.

All the Lochiel Park builders are required to be accredited under the HIA Greensmart accreditation which considers the use of sustainable building materials and building practices although is not a requirement.

The UDG section 4.1.4 requires the use of sustainable building materials as discussed in previous sections above. In assessing and validating compliance with these requirements LMC requires the builders to provide copies of invoices from approved suppliers and certification from the manufacturer that the materials comply. Payment of the final 50% of the Sustainability rebate referred to in the introduction is held until evidence is provided.

The Lochiel Park community website provides the “Green Pages” a directory of sustainable suppliers based on the suppliers listing obtained from the ROI in 2006. This also encourages uses to suggest new sustainable suppliers to be added. 

A minimum of 20% flyash content in cement has been specified and used in all concrete in civil, landscaping work and an advisory guideline recommends the use of flyash in concrete in building works.

Recycled rubble supplied by ResourceCo has been used for road base under all roads.

A trial of recycled bitumen product called “Bitumix” consisting of recycled road wearing course and supplementary recycled materials or “Bitumate” with a bitumen binder was carried out in the project. The material was found to be unsuitable for the finished wearing course in the subdivision area due to the heavy turning movements experienced and it was decided that it would not meet the minimum lifecycle requirements for this type of road. Approximately 60% of the roads in the project were subject to the trial and ultimately resurfaced in standard asphalt.

The material was reused in base under concrete footpaths in park lands and is more suitable for rural roads due to the loose finished surface.

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Key Issues:

Benefits:

• Use of recycled materials in the public infrastructure reduced the impact on the environment as some of the materials used such as recycled kerbside green waste have been diverted from landfill reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
• BSmart brick products have an environmental benefit of reducing the embodied energy in wall and paving construction.

Costs:

• Generally the cost of environmentally sustainable materials was found to vary when compared to the less environmentally sound product.
• For example the cost of recycled road bas is cheaper than the equivalent product from a quarry
• However the cost of manufacturing low embodied brick on site is high due to the establishment of plant on site

Savings:

• Some cost savings were achieved trough the use of recycled products such as recycled road base

Risks:

• There is a risk of contamination with the use of recycled products. This was evident in the use of mulch in the urban forest at Lochiel Park where recycled green waste from the council kerb side collection was contaminated by other household waste including glass. Hand picking of the mulch was carried out.

Barriers:

• Lack of knowledge and understanding amongst the builders in Lochiel Park was an issue addressed through consultation with construction managers and the use of Eco-specifier.
• Existing supplier agreement between builders and contractors and the suppliers of non-environmentally sustainable materials. In many cases existing agreements had to be ignored to comply with the Urban Design Guidelines.

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Water Management

Objectives and Targets
To reduce the consumption of potable water by 78% when compared to the average in Adelaide in 2004.

To achieve an 87% use of recycled storm water for all uses in the development.

LMC engaged specialist consultant Ecological Engineering to develop the master planning and framework for water sensitive urban design within Lochiel Park.  A stakeholder group comprising SA Water, the City of Campbelltown and LMC together with LMC’s consultants Ecological Engineering and Maunsel AECOM met regularly over the course of one and a half years to develop the water supply strategy for Lochiel Park.

Discussion papers incorporating modeling of various options for rainwater tanks, recycled storm water and water efficiencies were prepared and discussed at length in the water stakeholder group meetings.

While the requirements for certification under the water section of EnviroDevelopment require only one of the criteria to be used to achieve a target saving of 40% potable water use, the Lochiel Park development can demonstrate 5 and has made recommendations to homeowners to achieve a 6th resulting a target 78% saving of potable water consumed.

Storm water harvesting
Lochiel Park will collect storm water from two urban catchments totaling 260 hectares in area. The storm water which previously discharged untreated into the Torrens River is now diverted by sophisticated diversion structures into two wetlands constructed to the north and south on the Lochiel Park site.

Storm water from the smaller northern catchment of 70 hectares is naturally treated through a gross pollutant trap and in the northern wetland and discharged into the Torrens with considerably less pollutant loads than previously.

Storm water from the larger southern catchment of 190 hectares is also treated through a gross pollutant trap and in the large southern wetland and “harvested” to provide the source water for the recycled storm water dual reticulation system which uses aquifer storage recovery (ASR) for storage.

The recycled storm water is used is non potable uses in the Lochiel Park homes including toilet flushing, cold tap washing machine connections and domestic irrigation and in the adjoining park lands and public reserves for irrigation.

The diagram below shows the water source for Lochiel Park

Recycled Water
Part of the Lochiel Park water recycling facility includes the installation of a dual reticulation system (or lilac pipe network) for the distribution of recycled storm water to the houses for toilet flushing, washing machine cold water connection and irrigation for private properties and the public open spaces.

The dual reticulation system has been installed as part of the civil works contract and is currently connected to a temporary ground water pumping system to deliver ground water to the urban forest area to assist with the establishment of planting in the urban forest and wetlands.

Ultimately the dual reticulation system will be connected to the recycled water infrastructure that takes water from the wetlands or the aquifer through the aquifer storage recovery ASR system.  A functional design for this infrastructure has been completed.

It is a mandatory requirement of the urban design guidelines that home owners at Lochiel Park connect and remain connected to the dual reticulation system.

The dual reticulation system will contribute to the target reduction of 78% potable water.

Rainwater Harvesting
It is a mandatory requirement of the UDG that each home has a rain water tank of minimum capacity 1.5 kL and that this is connected to at least 80% of the roof area to supply the hot water service.

Statutory regulations require rain water tanks for all new homes except where a dual reticulation system is provided. Lochiel Park has therefore exceeded this minimum requirement with the objective to demonstrate the use of a triple pipe water supply system.

Detailed research including modeling of tank size, roof area and water demand was carried out in order to determine the optimum size for rainwater tanks in the project. The optimum size which is governed by roof area is relatively small and this fit well with the small allotment sizes.

Sustainable Use of Underground Water Sources
Investigations into Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) were carried out in early 2006 with the drilling of two bores. Under the guidance of specialist consultant Australian Ground Water Technologies, the first of these was drilled to a depth of approximately 118 m into bedrock and was not suitable. The second was drilled a few hundred meters away and was more successful yielding ground water at 7 L/second.  

The main objective was to determine if a suitable storage facility for treated storm water could be found underground. The ultimate scheme for supply of recycled storm water will rely on the ASR system for storage,

Permits have been obtained from the Department of Water Land and Biodiversity Conservation (DWLBC) for the drilling of the bores and the use of ground water from the bore during the first 2 years while the wetlands are being established after which time the aquifer will be recharged with treated storm water from the southern wetland.

An application to the Environment Protection Authority for a works permit which will allow storm water to be recharged into the aquifer is in the process of being prepared and will take effect when the quality of the wetland water can be shown to have reached a minimum quality standard.

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Key Issues:

Benefits:

• Reduced pollutants entering the Torrens River as a result of the bio-filtration  treatment
• Increased survival of ecosystems
• Created habitat for water birds and aquatic species.
• Reduced total potable water consumption (78%) through a fit for purpose water supply system
• Discussion on the benefits that have been achieved through the various sustainability initiatives.

Costs:

• Recycled Stormwater system is to cost Discussion on the costs that were encountered (financial, environmental, time, etc) due to the various sustainability initiatives.

Wetland and GPT (portion attributed to recycled water scheme)	$211,000
Reticulation system (dual/lilac pipe network)	$135,000
Total ASR bore drilling incl Testing	$109,000
Recycled water system headworks (United Water estimate)	$1,074,000
Total Recycled Water System	$1,529,000

When spread over the 106 dwelling in the project the above amounts to $14,400 per dwelling.

While this is not a viable cost for a small development like Lochiel Park the scheme was approved as it acts as a demonstration for other larger projects.

• Additional maintenance of the bio-filtration swales and bio-filtration pits (or rain gardens) This is the responsibility of Council.

Savings:

• Consumers will make a saving on their water bills as a result of the water efficient fixtures mandated by the Urban Design Guidelines
• The price for recycled water is 75% of the second tier potable water price (ie for total water volumes of 125 kL) The tier pricing is:  
• 50 cents per kilolitre (kL) for the first 125 kL used in the year
• $1.16 per kL for residential consumption above 125 kL over the year
• Lochiel park residents will be charged 75% of the second tier rate of $1.16 for recycled stormwater irrespective of the volume they use. This could result in the price for recycled water being greater than potable water if the consumer uses less than 125 kL.

Risks:

• Risks of the recycled water scheme include
  • the quality of the source water not being suitable for injection or recycling and not complying with the minimum  standards of the authorities.
  • Colour of the recycled stormwater being effected by the tannins in the leaves from the catchment in turn affecting the use of the water for washing machine use. This risk will be managed through regular monitoring of the water quality and the possible introduction of additional treatment measures.
• Contamination of source water supply preventing reuse and /or injection into aquifer – addressed through regular monitoring.
• Risks associated with the bio-filtration systems include the poor performance of the aquatic plants resulting in additional maintenance
• Rainwater tanks contaminated water – addressed by the connection to hot water systems which kills pathogens.

Barriers:

• Reluctance by Council to accept the bio retention was seen as a possible barrier however the City of Campbelltown has accepted this responsibility
• Water authorities are also reluctant to taken on additional risks however in this case SA Water has willingly taken on the responsibility of owning and operating the recycled water scheme.

Benchmarks:

• Exiting project Mawson Lakes in South Australia was partly used as a benchmark for the recycled  water scheme in this project. Many of the existing processes including the reticulation network had been developed here.

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Energy Management

Energy Objectives

• Reduce use of non renewable energy resources.
• Reduce the production of greenhouse gases.

Energy Targets compared to an average Adelaide 2004  household

• Reduce energy consumption by 66% and
• Reduce Green house gas emissions by 74%

The Urban Design Guidelines (UDG) includes a requirement to achieve a minimum 7.5 star AccuRate rating. In most case this has resulted in external retractable shading devices being designed on the homes, provisions for ventilation and a requirement for ceiling fans to be fitted in all habitable rooms.  It is also a mandatory requirement for ceiling fans to be fitted to promote air flow through the homes.

The UDG’s include recommended planting lists guidelines to assist home owners in selecting the correct species and location for planting and to ensure shading in summer where required.

The land at Lochiel Park is flat and sloping topography is therefore not a consideration.

Reducing Peak Load
The UDG’s include an advisory guideline encouraging purchasers to install a load management device aimed at reducing peak load. The device to be supplied to all participating residents by Schneider Electric will provide a range of maximum loads with a corresponding tariff rebate to be paid by ETSA Utilities (South Australia’s Electricity network authority).  Circuits in the home will be wired to the re-programmable device so that if the agreed maximum load is reached a warning light and tone will indicate that the first circuit is about to be switched off. Generally the first circuit will be the air-conditioner. If the load is still higher than the maximum agreed, a second circuit will be switched off and so on until the load is reduced.

Air-Conditioning
The UDG’s include a requirement for air-conditioning that minimizes the capacity and ensures sizing in accordance with the thermal performance of the dwelling.  The requirement provides a list of preferred technology and information on maximum input energy allowed for various house sizes. The requirement for large homes in most cases will result in the use of evaporative air-conditioners, however high efficiency reverse cycle systems with inverter technology having an equivalent of 6 stars or 3.5 EER are possible. Generally if a reverse cycle system is selected it will be a multi head split system.

A report prepared by University of SA for Lochiel Park and provided to each of the three builders provides detailed information on various options for air-conditioning with the aim to limit air-conditioning to capacities appropriate for the 7.5 star passive design standard of the homes.

The heating and cooling requirements from the UDG’s are provided below:

Heating systems
 
Preferred Technology

• High efficiency non-ducted gas fired heating systems;
• Solar-boosted gas fired hydronic radiator systems;
• Solar-boosted gas fired hydronic in floor heating systems;
• Solar combi (hot water and space heater) systems;
• Solar air heating systems;
• 6 Star, non-ducted heat pump systems; and
• Geo exchange loop connected systems.
• Other heating systems will be allowed if they can be shown to have an equivalent or reduced greenhouse gas emissions.  The builder/resident will need to arrange an assessment of a proposal by an independent assessor approved by the Land Management Corporation to determine if it meets the intent of the guidelines.  Costs associated with this process will be borne by the applicant.

Precluded Technology

• Gas heaters not subject to gas rating labels, or with a gas rating of under two stars;
• Electric resistive heaters, including infrared heat lamps, with a maximum input power exceeding 2.4kW;
• Solid or liquid fuel heaters of less than 50% thermal efficiency; and
• Ducted heating systems other than those listed under Preferred Technology.

Sizing

• All applications should include a heat load calculation for each conditioned space in the home.
• If the preferred heating system is electric reverse cycle air conditioning, then this sizing should be governed by the cooling criteria (see cooling section).
• If the preferred heating system is gas, the sum of the maximum gas input for all heaters must not exceed 45 MJ/h.
• Where a combination of heaters is used, the above gas and electrical constraints apply, pro-rata based on heater output capacity.  For example, the following three heaters in a given house would have constraints as shown:
  • A wood heater of 5kW output (40% pro-rata, but no constraint);
  • A gas space heater of 5kW output (Max 18 MJ/h; ie 40% pro-rata); and
  • A reverse cycle air conditioner of 2.5kW output (Max 0.7 kVA; ie 20% pro-rata)

Cooling Systems

Preferred Technology

• Indirect evaporative coolers (including ducted systems);
• Direct evaporative coolers (including ducted systems), with plant preferably located in a shaded open area and exhausted direct to roof space;
• Multi head refrigerative zoned systems without air ducting may be approved subject to the maximum input capacity not being exceeded (see below);
• 6 Star heat pump systems (excludes ducted); and
• Geo exchange loop connected systems.
• Reverse cycle systems with digital scroll technology having an equivalent of 6 Stars or 3.5 EER and a Demand Response Enabling Device.
• Other cooling systems will be allowed if they can be shown to have equivalent or reduced greenhouse gas emissions and peak load characteristics.  The builder/applicant will need to arrange an assessment of a proposal by an independent assessor approved by the Land Management Corporation to determine if it meets the intent of the guidelines.  Costs associated with this process will be borne by the applicant.

Precluded Technology

• Ducted cooling systems other than those listed under Preferred Technology.

Sizing

• All plans should include a cooling load calculation for each conditioned space in the home.
• If the preferred cooling system is electric refrigerative or reverse cycle, the sum of the maximum electrical input power at rated conditions of 35 deg C ambient temperature for all coolers must not exceed the following:
  • Small House (< 110 m²): 2.0 kVA 
  • Medium House (110 to 185 m²): 3.0 kVA
  • Large House (>185 m²): 4.0 kVA
    Note that kVA is distinct from kW, and depends on the power factor of the system. Some advanced systems have power factor correction.
• Ceiling fans are to be fitted in all habitable rooms, which are to have a minimum ceiling height of 2.7m where the fan is located (refer Section 3.3). Where possible limit the extent of high ceilings to minimise room volume and overshadowing of dwellings to the south. This may be achieved by raking ceilings for part of the room.

Efficient Lighting
The UDGs contain a requirement for minimum lighting standards in section 4.1.5 Appliances and Utilities (Rating Tool) as follows.

Buildings should be designed to maximize use of natural light and minimise energy use for lighting.

• Rooms and spaces without direct access to daylight through windows should be fitted with tube based skylights or roof lights. If roof lights larger than 250 mm diameter (or equivalent area) are used they should be fitted with double glazing and operable sunshades.
• Install only energy efficient lighting in every room and outdoors having a maximum of 30 lumins per watt rating. (Note that low voltage lighting is not necessarily low energy lighting.)

If the Rating tool option is selected by the applicant in order to comply with the requirement details of all lighting including room areas, technology type, room use and number of lights in each room in the house will be required. The tool then calculates the contribution to total energy consumption to determine a pass or fail for the energy section.

Renewable, non polluting energy source
The UDG requires a minimum of 1.0 kW of PV solar power per 100 m² of habitable floor area. Homes in Lochiel Park will therefore generate an estimated 8300 kW per year or 36% of total energy consumed as determined by Cohen and Oliphant.

Building Energy Efficiency
In accordance with the UDG, the homes in Lochiel Park will require a 7.5 star AccuRate rating. In most cases the building designs include increased levels of insulation (generally R2.5 in the external walls and R3.5 or R4.0 in the ceiling), cross ventilation and vertical stack ventilation, external retractable shading and double glazed windows for some or all windows.

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Key Issues:

Benefits:

• Reduced energy consumption resulting in cost saving to consumers
• Reduced greenhouse gas emission resulting in an environmental benefit
• Reduced peak electrical load resulting in the reduction of electrical infrastructure required.

Costs:

• Supply of smart meters is a cost borne by project
• Supply of load management devices at approximately $1000 each borne by the project
• PV cells at a cost of about $20,000 before rebates for each dwelling to comply with the urban design guidelines is a cost borne by the home purchaser.
• Discussion on the costs that were encountered (financial, environmental, time, etc) due to the various sustainability initiatives.

Savings:

• Reduced electricity bills result from the installation of PV cells
• Reduced gas bills result from the passive design and thermal performance of the homes and the use solar hot water services.

Risks:

• Use of Load Management devices may have a negative impact on some users however there is flexibility in the system which enables users to adjust the loads there system operates under.

Barriers:

• Energy utilities are reluctant to accept that the proposed peak load reduction initiatives will result in reduced infrastructure as they have seen no actual evidence of this. As a result the Lochiel Park project despite having a 7.5 AccuRate requirement, restrictions on air conditioning and load management devices was required to install the standard level of electrical infrastructure in the subdivision.

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Sustainability Management

Monitoring
LMC has committed to 9 years of monitoring all sustainability objectives in the project. This will be carried out in three levels of detail.

1. Detailed analysis of all electrical circuits and water fixtures, temperature and waste reduction in a sample of up to 10 dwellings depending on cost.  
2. Electrical and water Billing data from all dwellings and
3. Whole of development metering at electrical transformer and water and gas mains.

Sustainability Rating Tool
The Lochiel Park Sustainability Rating tool has been developed by the Energy Division within the South Australian Government Department of Transport Energy and Infrastructure with input and support from SA Water and the Department of the Premier and Cabinet.  The tool provides builders and designers with a performance outcome approach to achieving the minimum sustainability requirements for the project. The tool is referred to in section 4 relating to sustainability within the Lochiel Park Urban Design Guidelines. The tool is unique in SA and its potential to be used beyond Lochiel Park is currently being investigated for other LMC developments.

Ecological Footprint
The Ecological Footprint of South Australia is 7.0 gh/p, with over half of the footprint resulting from the use of energy in our homes, our transport and in producing good and services. The South Australian Strategic Plan targets a 30% reduction in the state ecological footprint by 2030.

To establish the credentials Lochiel Park as a nation leading green village LMC undertook an ecological footprint calculation to compare it against the state average and other developments in Australia that had undertaken a similar exercise. The Lochiel Park calculation was based on the same methodology used for the state calculation and was undertaken by the same consultant to allow for direct comparison purposes.

Lochiel Park’s Ecological footprint has been calculated at 6.25 global hectares/ person (gh/p).

The calculation took into account the energy efficiency of the dwellings, the Photovoltaic (PV) cells, the target set for household waste, the expected transport mode, the potential for carbon offsets in the urban forest, and the increased density of the Lochiel Park development envelope.

 The results showed that:

• With all interventions but without PV cells would result in an eco-footprint of 6.62 gh/p or a 5.4 % reduction. 
• With the PV cells included in the calculation it would be 6.25 gh/p or a 10.5% reduction in the ecological footprint.

While the results showed a 10.5% reduction when compared to the state calculation the potential exists for the reduction to be as high as 18% when dietary behaviour and transport issues are further addressed. When considering the Eco-footprint relating to housing alone the reduction when compared to the state is some 50%.

Carbon Emissions and Offsetting
A study was undertaken to determine the requirements to offset carbon emission from the Lochiel Park development.

The report showed that the emissions resulting from the development (not including infrastructure construction and embodied energy emissions from infrastructure construction) over 80 years the carbon account for Lochiel Park would be 81,498 tonnes. It was estimated that the planting in the urban forest would result in an offset of 10,600 tonnes resulting in a net 70,898 tonnes being produced from Lochiel Park.

The carbon emission for a resident’s electricity and gas and embodied energy of the dwellings could be offset at a cost only $76 per home per year over 80 years. If the carbon emissions for transport were included this would increase the cost to $223 per home per year for 80 years. This would result in Lochiel Park being able to be recognised as South Australia first carbon neutral development.

A further calculation been undertaken that establishes the total embodied emission from the housing and infrastructure using an upper limit figure.

Total embodied emissions
The total embodied emissions from the project can be calculated by the addition of the 

Infrastructure embodied emissions	2,000 Tonnes CO2-e
Housing embodied emissions	10,000 Tonnes CO2-e
Total embodied emissions	12,000 Tonnes CO2-e

The ACBI report also considers the carbon sink provided by the planting and existing trees in Lochiel Park that will be protected from future development by the Park Land legislation (Local Govt (Lochiel Park Lands) amendment Act 2005). The report states that ANU calculations indicate 12,400 tonnes CO₂ will be absorbed by Lochiel Park’s trees over eighty years. FullCAM 3’s figure is ~11,000 tonnes CO₂. A conservative figure of 10,000 t CO₂ is therefore adopted as the amount of carbon dioxide that will be sequestered onsite over 80 years at Lochiel Park.

It is proposed to submit an application to the AGO for accreditation under the Greenhouse Friendly Program to determine if the offsets above can be registered.

Assuming this is possible, the net embodied emissions from the Lochiel Park are summarised below: 

Total embodied emissions	12,000 T
Less emissions offset at Lochiel Park	10,000 T
Total net embodied emissions	2,000 T

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Key Issues:

Benefits:

• Extensive data on the performance of various sustainability initiatives in the project will be gathered over a 9 year period.  This will result in a better understanding of the relative performances of each initiative.

Costs:

• Installation of monitoring equipment in a sample of homes and the analysis of data gathered. Most if this is to be funded by external organisations including CSIRO.

Barriers:

• Privacy legislation may prevent the assessing of some data. This has been addressed through requirement of each resident to sign a monitoring deed allow LMC to access billing data and temperature monitoring data.

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