Adelaide Hills | Developments & News

[Strangled Cat]

That population figure is for the whole Mt Barker council region, Mt Barker itself is only around 14,000 (incl Littlehampton).

Woolies wasn't very big before the reno, so now its just the average size for a Woolworths.

I live in Mount Barker and see the developments on a daily basis. A lot is happening, albeit very slowly. They took 2 years to finish Adelaide Hills Toyota!

Its a joke that it took 2 years to complete the car showroom, yet the council built a 2 level carpark in a space of just a few months. The Barker Hotel redevelopment has taken for ages to be finished aswell.

Another joke is the large vacant block of land smack bang in the heart of Mt Barker, there has been quite a few proposals that have never seen the light of day including office development, Big W, KFC etc... Its probably been vacant for over 5 years now.


BTW lived in Mt Barker for 4 years right up till late last year .

Mate, with that view in your avatar, I certainly don't blame you for leaving!

[Strangled Cat]

I hope that the Barker Hotel will be something good. At the moment there's no where decent to hang out and have a drink in Mount Barker. Grays Inn is alright but certainly not what I'd call a classy establishment. At the moment, the only place to be in the hills on a Thurs/Fri/Sat night is the Striling Hotel, so it would be nice if there was another place like that in the Hills. Ohh, and don't even mention the German Arms, I've nearly been in many fights there and been threatened by more drunk 18 year olds who claim to be Newphews of Finks/Hells Angles/Rebels etc bikie members than there would actually be members of those Bikie gangs altogether. Terrible place IMO, mabe it's improved from 3 years ago?

[JamesXander]

I hope that the Barker Hotel will be something good. At the moment there's no where decent to hang out and have a drink in Mount Barker. Grays Inn is alright but certainly not what I'd call a classy establishment. At the moment, the only place to be in the hills on a Thurs/Fri/Sat night is the Striling Hotel, so it would be nice if there was another place like that in the Hills. Ohh, and don't even mention the German Arms, I've nearly been in many fights there and been threatened by more drunk 18 year olds who claim to be Newphews of Finks/Hells Angles/Rebels etc bikie members than there would actually be members of those Bikie gangs altogether. Terrible place IMO, mabe it's improved from 3 years ago?

It has a new owner now, apparently they own quite a few hotels now.

in my honest opinion they need to renovate the front bar, very daggy and underutilised.

Hahndorf Inn is making a KILLING these days, if they copied that model (old, german etc) I am sure they would do fine and probably lose the losers..haha

[crawf]

Yeah that was always the problem with Mt Barker, there was no decent place to go to. When I lived there I used to go straight to the city then later I would catch the delightful midnight service home at 4:45am Sunday mornings - Oh what a fun way to spend a hour drunk!


Barker was actually on 7 news tonight, apparently the State Government want to build 15,000 new homes between Mt Barker and Murray Bridge as part of their 2030 Adelaide development plan.

BTW Stirling Hotel is quite nice, I wont mind if Barker Hotel redevelopment is similar to Stirling.

[skyliner]

That population figure is for the whole Mt Barker council region, Mt Barker itself is only around 14,000 (incl Littlehampton). .

Even so, the population is 'said' to be coming (ABS) - with all the demands and requirements it needs, sprawled out or not. Whatever the factors causing the growth are, I have seen nothing stating a slowing in growth will take place for Mt Barker for some time.

BTW - anyone know what size the Mt Barker region council area actually is?

SA - STATE ON THE MOVE

[rhino]

BTW - anyone know what size the Mt Barker region council area actually is?

It takes in Hahndorf, Littlehampton and Nairne to the north, Kanmantoo and half of Callington to the east (Bremer River is the boundary so the other half of Callington is in Murray Bridge Council), Echunga and Meadows to the south. Onkaparinga River is the western boundary I think, no major towns there as it's south of the Onkaparinga Valley.

[Strangled Cat]

Anyone know when Bunnings is supposed to be opening? Last I heard they were going to be hiring around Christmas with a view of opening in very early '09. Obviously this is not going to happen as it's nearly a quarter way through the year already and in over 4 months they've only been able to put a frame on a concrete slab!

[skyliner]

BTW - anyone know what size the Mt Barker region council area actually is?

It takes in Hahndorf, Littlehampton and Nairne to the north, Kanmantoo and half of Callington to the east (Bremer River is the boundary so the other half of Callington is in Murray Bridge Council), Echunga and Meadows to the south. Onkaparinga River is the western boundary I think, no major towns there as it's south of the Onkaparinga Valley.

Thanks mate. That is some area to look after. I note that there is very little of any size in it however, and think that most of the growth WILL be in or around Mt Barker itself as a result - hence 4O000 or so in 2026 not that unrealistic.

SA - STATE ON THE MOVE

[JamesXander]

Well the local council certainly doesnt want the town to expand by that much.

This is the closest I've ever been to a NIMBY issue. I live in Hahndy, and I just cant imagine that amount of homes in Mt Barker. I guess in a way I just cant imagine it losing its country town status (which it almost has at the moment, but would be even worse with thousands more homes).


I like to see growth and all, but I hope it doesnt affect to much on the lifestyle out here. You have to remember this literally was the COUNTRY only 20 years ago. the tunnel changed all that.

I just hope the Hills dont change into just another suburb of Adelaide is what i am saying really.

[Shuz]

The Hills already is another suburb of Adelaide. The growth alongside the freeway has been quite significant, and it is no wonder they are screaming for essential PT services (bus & rail). Look on Google Earth, the urban sprawl is more noticable I think than, say compared to Seaford. Could be an illusion though - Seaford being largely linear, along the coast, whereas the sprawl of the Hills communities is more radial, and has merged amongst the other townships.

[rhino]

There is still a moratorium on building within Adelaide's water catchment. As you drive along the south Eastern Freeway, you cross this catchment, and then you reach the towns of Mount Barker, Littlehampton, Nairne. They are all just outside the catchment - that is, the creeks flow towards the Murray, not the reservoirs. Add this to the Freeway factor, and sorry, but Mount Barker is going to grow, and grow, and grow. If you want to keep your "country feel", stay inside the catchment, where the number of titles (outside the town limits) is static.

[Cruise]

I like to see growth and all, but I hope it doesnt affect to much on the lifestyle out here. You have to remember this literally was the COUNTRY only 20 years ago. the tunnel changed all that.

Aldinga was literally the country 20 years ago, as was Angle Vale and Virgina,

Why do you believe the hills deserve to be protected more so than these other areas?

[crawf]

Because the Adelaide Hills has a wonderful charm and is one of the most beautiful parts of the state, that should not be destroyed by sprawl.

[Strangled Cat]

The hills will definitely sprawl more in the future, but I can never see it joining on to Adelaide as it will never sprawl over Mount Lofty. I can see it becoming similar to the Dandenongs in Melbourne where by townships will become larger and closer together, and even become officially a suburb even though they are seperate townships. Towns like Olinda and Mt Dandenong are pretty much joined up, but to get to them there's no straight run through. Short of cutting through kilometres of mountain and forest reserve, Mt Barker is actually so much easier to get to from the CBD than these 'suburbs' are to get to from Melbournes CBD. Littlehampton may as well be a suburb of Mt Barker, and one day Nairne will be very close to Mt Barker, but they will never be joined onto Adelaide. Considered suburbs? Most probably. God help us if Nairne and Woodside sprawl and meet up though...

[rhino]

God help us if Nairne and Woodside sprawl and meet up though...

Nairne and Woodside will not join up, for the reasons I gave at the bottom of the previous page.