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Media Release - Minister's Office Sydney: 19 March 2008 PLANNING REFORMS MOVE FORWARD - NEW REPORTS RELEASED State Plan Priority P3: Cutting red tapeA suite of new reports examining planning in NSW have been released today as part of the Iemma Government’s plan to reinvigorate the system. Planning Minister Frank Sartor said the reports – which include new council performance figures for 2006-07– were vital to an informed debate about planning in NSW. “The Local Development Performance Monitoring 2006-07 analyses how councils dealt with 112,000 development proposals worth nearly $22 billion,” Mr Sartor said. “This information is crucial because it allows us to put the system under a microscope and identify the problems. “The report clearly shows the planning system is being over-stretched with small-scale applications for new homes and home renovations.” According to the report, homeowners across NSW are waiting an average of almost two months for local councils to make decisions on simple renovations. “The report found more than 60% of development applications (DAs) are for new homes or alterations to homes,” Mr Sartor said. “Yet total average determination times for all DAs increased at nearly half the State’s 152 councils – with the average gross processing time now around 73 days.” The report finds that: • About 94% of DAs have a construction value of $500,000 or less; • The gross determination time for projects between $100,000 and $500,000 is 92 days, and 168 days for projects between $500,000 and $1 million; • Just one in ten development proposals are assessed as complying development; and • Mosman Municipal Council is the slowest in the State, with a gross average determination time of 174 days, followed by Holroyd (160 days), Ashfield (151 days), Rockdale (149 days) and Botany Bay (143 days). Mr Sartor said the proposed planning reforms would target many of these problems and help streamline the system. “Under our proposed reforms it will be possible for property owners to get an approval for their renovation in as little as 10 days, provided it fully complies with the rules,” he said. Mr Sartor today also released an independent report detailing public submissions on the Iemma Government’s discussion paper – Improving the NSW Planning System. “We placed the discussion paper on exhibition for an extended period, and accepted late submissions, to ensure we canvassed a variety of stakeholders,” Mr Sartor said. “I am pleased to say that just under half the 538 formal submissions received were from residents and community groups. “The feedback shows there is a general feeling in the community, councils and stakeholder groups that the system needs to be improved.” Mr Sartor said the submissions recorded strong support for strengthening accountability measures around private certifiers, increasing the use of e-planning, and streamlining planmaking. “The submissions were spread across a range of topics, with no one issue dominating,” he said. “If you look at an issue like complying development codes, while there were a number of individual objections, the codes received overwhelming support in surveys conducted by the Planning Institute of Australia and the Royal Australian Institute of Architects. “Interestingly, the codes were also supported by the Local Government Managers Association.” Mr Sartor said the report noted many submissions mistakenly expressed concern that projects under $1 million would be automatically classed as ‘exempt and complying’ development, able to be approved by an accredited certifier. “This was never part of our reforms and became an urban legend during the exhibition period,” he said. “In reality, a proposal will only be dealt with as complying development if it fits into one of a number of codes that the NSW Government will develop in consultation with local practitioners. “We will take all public submissions into account when drafting the codes and the legislative changes.” The Independent Expert Review Panel report into the NSW Heritage Act was also released today. Mr Sartor said the report – which represents the first review of the heritage system in nearly 20 years – was an important part of the planning reform process. “The report found key elements of the State’s heritage system were generally working well, but there was a need for some reform,” Mr Sartor said. “For example, the report notes there is no obligation for councils to consult owners when preparing studies on potential heritage significance, and owners have no right to ask for an independent review of a State or local listing.” The panel recommended owners should have the right to seek: • an independent panel, public inquiry or planning arbitrator in the case of a local listing; • a Ministerial review panel or commission of inquiry in regard to a State listing. Furthermore, the review panel states that owners of proposed heritage items should be consulted at the outset of the heritage assessment process. Mr Sartor said he was considering the panel’s report and a NSW Government response.
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