After section 5 of the Principal Act , the following section is inserted in Part 1:

5A.     Regional areas and regional land use strategies

(1)  The Minister, by notice in the Gazette , may specify the regional areas into which the State is divided for the purposes of this Act.

(2)  A notice under subsection (1) is to specify the municipal areas that are within a regional area specified in the notice.

(3)  The Minister, by notice in the Gazette , may declare a regional land use strategy for a regional area.

(4)  The Minister must consult with –

(a) the Commission; and

(b) the planning authorities; and

(c) the State Service Agencies, and State authorities, as he or she thinks fit –

before issuing a notice under subsection (3) .

(5)  A regional land use strategy may incorporate or refer to any document prepared, by a planning authority in respect of a municipal area to which the regional land use strategy relates, for the purposes of reflecting the application of the regional land use strategy to the municipal area.

(6)  The Minister must keep all regional land use strategies under regular and periodic review.