RECENT changes to NSW planning laws will have a significant effect on an elected Council’s ability to have a say in the approval or refusal of development applications in their local areas.

Recently-passed amendments to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act are among the most significant changes to the Act in its 30-year history.

The changes were opposed by many local councils, as well as the Local Government and Shires Association.

The Association, which represents the views of 152 NSW councils, said the new laws will ‘reduce the local communities’ participation in the planning process by substantially reducing the council’s role in planning decisions and minimising residents’ opportunities to make submissions on planning issues.”

One of the changes the Association is referring to is handing over of Council’s power to determine development applications to Joint Regional Planning Panels.

These panels will determine development applications for significant developments that are currently determined by local councils.

It is not yet known how many panels there will be state-wide, other than they will cover at least two council areas each.

The panels will be made up of five members, with three appointed by the Minister for Planning who must have expertise in town planning, architecture, heritage and the like.

The other two members will be people nominated by each of the councils within each panel’s area.

At least one of these nominees is also required to have expertise in town planning, architecture, heritage and the like.

The panel members appointed by the Minister will not necessarily be members of the community that is affected by the decisions of the panel. They will definitely not be elected.

The requirement that one of the two council nominees on a panel have certain qualifications will probably rule out most elected members of local councils.

The proposal to create regional planning panels is a deliberate attempt by the State Government to remove politics from the development assessment decision making process.

Whether or not that is good thing remains to be seen.

One thing is certain, a community’s opportunity to have a say in decisions that will affect the neighbourhood and the environment will be significantly restricted.

M. Mantei,

Wollongong.