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The Parade Proposed Smoke-free Area

The Parade proposed smoke-free area

Consultation closed Friday 15 December.

The Parade

The City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters recognises the need to protect the health of the community and to increase the comfort and enjoyment of people using public spaces, which will be supported through the introduction of smoke-free areas within the Council area.

You are invited to have your say on a proposal to designate a section of The Parade as a permanent smoke-free area.

 

Consultation update - 13 March 2018

As a much-loved public space in the City, The Parade is visited by locals and visitors every day. Given the prominence and highly pedestrianised nature of The Parade, the Council is seeking to improve the comfort and enjoyment of public spaces along The Parade, for all of the community to enjoy, which will promote positive health outcomes and may have the added benefit of reducing litter within the City.

In late 2017, the Council consulted with the community on a proposal to designate a section of The Parade, between the eastern side of Osmond Terrace and the western side of Portrush Road, as a permanent smoke-free area. Over 100 responses were received in response to the proposal, of which 73% of respondents were in favour of the proposal.

At its meeting held on Monday 5 February 2018, the Council considered all submissions received on the proposal, and elected to proceed with the smoke-free area application, though amended the boundary of the proposed area. The amended smoke-free area on The Parade runs from the eastern side of Osmond Terrace to the western side of Portrush Road, and includes a small, private pedestrian laneway located adjoining the western side of the Norwood Town Hall building. The adjoining side-streets have been removed from the proposed area.

Proposed smoke-free area map

Proposed smoke free area map council endorsed 2

An application to declare the proposed section of The Parade as a permanent smoke-free area will be lodged with the Department of Health and Ageing. Further updates on the outcome of this application will be provided on the Council’s website.

Background

OverviewNorwood Streetscape Norwood Town Hall

The Council is committed to providing environments and events that are conducive to good health outcomes for the community.  

As awareness of the harmful effects of second-hand tobacco smoke increases, so does the community’s expectation that it will be protected from smoke-polluted environments.

By introducing more smoke-free areas the Council will be helping to provide healthy public spaces for the enjoyment of everyone.

Further information about the health risks associated with smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke is outlined in the Council's Position Paper: Options for Introducing Smoke-Free Areas and Events

 

Legislation and current smoking bans

South Australia has seen numerous smoking bans introduced over the years in incremental stages. These bans have been a consequence of a range of factors including advances in scientific evidence, growing public acceptance and expectations and political decision making.

In 2012, the State Government introduced new legislation under the Tobacco Products Regulation Act 1997 to ban smoking within ten metres of children’s playground equipment located in public areas, and under all covered public transport waiting areas.

In 2016, the State Government introduced a new law to prohibit smoking in all public outdoor dining areas (which are unenclosed areas where food is offered for purchase).

The purpose of these new laws is to protect the community from exposure to second hand tobacco smoke, and to increase the comfort and enjoyment of all patrons.

 

What the Council has been doing

The Council has a key role in promoting positive public health outcomes and striving for community well-being.

In 2012, the Council Prepared a Discussion Paper, which outlined a number of options and opportunities to introduce smoke-free areas and events within the Council area, which the community were invited to comment on. The submissions received were then reviewed and the paper was revised into the Position Paper Options for Introducing Smoke-Free Areas and Events in 2015. The Position Paper identified a number of Council resolutions that will further help to promote healthy lifestyles by creating additional smoke-free areas throughout the City. One of these Council resolutions was to designate The Parade as a permanent smoke-free area, which is the current proposal on community consultation.

Additionally, the Eastern Health Authority's Regional Public Health & Wellbeing Plan 2014 - 2018 outlines a number of Strategic Directions, which are classified into three themes including: Environments for Health, Capacity for Health, and Protection for Health. A specific action of the Plan identifies the need to provide smoke-free environments and events to increase the capacity for healthy lifestyles for our community, which will be achieved through the proposal to designate The Parade as a smoke-free area.

Proposal and process

Proposal to designate a section of The Parade as a smoke-free area

As a much-loved public space in the City, The Parade is visited by locals and visitors every day. Given the prominence and highly pedestrianised nature of The Parade, the Council is seeking to improve the comfort and enjoyment of public spaces along The Parade, for all of the community to enjoy, which will promote positive health outcomes and may have the added benefit of reducing litter within the City.

The proposed section of The Parade that will be affected is located between the eastern side of Osmond Terrace and the western side of Portrush Road (see map below).

Map of proposed section
Proposed Parade Smoke Free Area





Click on map to view a larger size.

This section of The Parade receives the highest daily patronage, and would therefore be the most effective and have the greatest benefit in terms of encouraging healthy living.

 

Process to formally declare The Parade as a smoke-free area

To formally declare an area as ‘smoke-free’, an application must be lodged with the Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse under Section 52 of the Tobacco Products Regulation Act 1997. If successful, this application would establish a permanent smoking ban in this area. This application requires a number of steps to be undertaken, including appropriate consultation with the community, on the proposal.

Any application to introduce additional smoking bans under the Act will be at the discretion of the Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse. This means that there is no guarantee that any application will be successful. Additionally there is no defined timeframe within which a decision on the proposal must be made, though anecdotally it is understood that this process will take approximately six months.

 

How the Council will implement the smoking ban

Should the application be approved by the Minister, the Council will implement the smoke-free area including installation of signage and further communication with business and property owners within the vicinity of the affected area.

The Council does not intend to issue fines under the Act; instead it has opted to take an educational approach.

Complementary to the proposed smoking ban on The Parade, the Council will also be pursuing additional initiatives to support smoke-free environments and events, in accordance with the Council’s previous resolutions. This includes introducing policies to designate all Council-run events as smoke-free and all Council-owned parks and reserves as smoke-free areas, as well as preventing smoking within 10 metres of all Council-owned buildings.

It is anticipated that the smoke-free area will be introduced towards the end of 2018.

Further reading and key documents

The following resources provide more information about the introduction of smoke-free areas and events, and healthy lifestyles through the Eastern Region Public Health & Wellbeing Plan 2014 - 2018.

Download: Smoke-free Parade Fact Sheet

Download: Position Paper: Options for Introducing Smoke-Free Areas and Events

Download: Eastern Regional Public Health & Wellbeing Plan 2014 - 2018

Visit: SA Health - declared smoke-free outdoor areas and events

Have your say

We want to hear from you!

Do you agree with the proposal? Should a different section of The Parade be designated as a smoke-free area?

To have your say, simply click on the Have Your Say button below.

Consultation closes at 5.00pm on Friday 15 December 2017.

 

Feedback form closed

 

Alternatively, your comments may be provided in the following ways:

  • in writing to: Smoke-Free Proposal for The Parade, City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters, PO Box 204, Kent Town SA 5071

  • by email: townhall@npsp.sa.gov.au

Contact

For more information, to discuss the proposal or arrange a time to meet, please contact the Council’s Strategic Projects Coordinator, Olivia Franco, on 08 8366 4524 or ofranco@npsp.sa.gov.au