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More housing could soon be available on Camp Road if a Dubbo Regional Council plan is approved on Monday night. Council is looking to change the Camp Road precinct into a mix of residential and tourism zoning. There will be a minimum lot sizing of five hectares along the front of Camp Road and two hectares in the rest of the precinct, despite some nearby residents calling for it to be reduced even further. In a report on the Camp Road structure plan, council said the two hectare lot size "balances being able to undertake viable development of the land, minimises land-use conflicts and achieves the revised role of the Camp Road precinct which is to allow small-scale rural-based tourism activities and semi-rural style lifestyle lots to co-exist". ALSO READ But Dubbo Observatory owner Peter Starr said allowing the new developments was "crazy" because of the increased light pollution. "Dubbo Observatory is a successful business attracting 10,000 visitors per year to view and photograph the planets, stars and galaxies from our dark skies," Mr Starr said in a submission to council. "Take away the dark skies from us and it will mean the end of our business and a loss for Dubbo of an iconic tourist attraction." To minimise the impacts, council will implement rules around lighting and have a 50 metre vegetation buffer. A 50 metre buffer has also been proposed for the land between 4L Camp Road and Red Earth Estate. On the other side of the land it will be 30 metres. The proposed plan for Camp Road was initially placed on public exhibition in April, amendments were made based on the 15 responses received and then the proposal was made open for comment for a second time. Council also held a stakeholder workshop in May for residents to air their concerns. A decision on the proposed plan will be made by Dubbo Regional councillors on Tuesday night.

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