The purpose of the policy is to provide the strategic planning framework for the area for the next 30 years by providing greater vision, guidance and certainty of land use.
The policy promotes sustainable development, conservation, and land and resource management. It seeks to provide assistance to those managing land use change, enable greater consistency between the two local governments, give clear regional-level advice to proponents of development, and provide a reference to guide development and conservation by improving the information available to the community.
The objectives of the policy are to: