06 April 2010
The government has made a series of changes to the NSW planning regulations, most with only minor implications.
Worth noting is a new definition of “capital investment value” which excludes development contributions and money paid under a voluntary planning agreement. The new definition also excludes costs relating to any part of the development or project that is the subject of a separate development consent or project approval.
The new definition is now in use in relation to the calculation of fees for Part 3A applications. It is not yet in use for deciding what projects should be dealt with by joint regional planning panels or under Part 3A. For it to be used in this context the Major Development SEPP would need to be amended, although its possible that such an amendment will be made in the near future. We have recently seen some legal action taking place about the validity of decisions, based on whether the right authority issued a consent (that is, whether the capital investment value has been calculated correctly).
The regulation also removes the requirement for the Minister for Planning to have an infrastructure plan relating to the infrastructure requirements of growth centres.
Pleasingly, the Department has responded to concerns voiced by the Urban Taskforce following a Court of Appeal decision in 2008. Changes have been made with the intent of clarifying that the declaration of a development as a project under Part 3A has no effect on existing development consents and approvals relating to the land.
The Department’s explanation of the changes is here. The legal document making the changes is here.
