11 June 2015
The announcement by the NSW Planning Minister that 16 state planning policies will be repealed signals moves towards a simpler planning system, says the Urban Taskforce.
“Minister Stokes is heading in the right direction with his announcement about decluttering the NSW planning system,” says Urban Taskforce CEO, Chris Johnson. “The repeal of 16 out of date state planning policies should be the beginning of a forensic editing of the complex planning system that the state has inherited through decades of incremental amendments.”
“At a time when there is much public discussion on the affordability of housing in Sydney we must all focus on ways to streamline supply. Sydney needs 33,200 new dwellings every year according to government figures but last financial year actual dwelling completions were more than 10,000 less than the number required.”
“It is essential that the NSW planning system is simplified so that approval times can be shortened. The Department of Planning’s Local Development Monitor issued in March 2014 indicated that approvals for medium sized buildings valued between $5 and $20 million averaged 232 working days or almost a year. This adds significant costs to each project therefore increasing housing costs.”
“The Urban Taskforce encourages the Minister to continue on the path of decluttering the NSW planning system and we are keen to contribute ideas like having a one stop shop for state government referrals.”
“Some of the state planning policies to be repealed are site specific policies from 1989 and time has moved on with much of the development completed. Clearly these policies can be fed back into other parts of the planning system if any parts of them are considered worth keeping.”
