27 September 2010
The latest approval figures for NSW’s major projects (Part 3A) have been released. Department of Planning figures state that a total of 38 development proposals were approved in August 2010 and since September 2008, the Government has granted 869 approvals. More information can be accessed from here.
The NSW Department of Planning is proposing to introduce a fee for BASIX certificates. The proposed fee for online assessments ranges from $25 to $120. Other assessments can be charged up to $250. More detail is here.
The Department of Planning is distributing $280,000 in funding to seven NSW councils. Bankstown, Blacktown, Port Macquarie-Hastings, Sutherland Shire, Tamworth Regional, The Hills Shire and Tweed Shire Councils will share this money, funding various projects such as electronic data bases, improving accuracy of electronic land information, training and best practice demonstration and information. More information can be accessed from here.
NSW Minister for Climate Change and the Environment, Frank Sartor, has introduced a revised version of the Coastal Protection and Other Legislation Amendment Bill into the Parliament. Some of the changes include:
- setting out what landowners can do to protect their own properties;
- creating an expert NSW Coastal Panel to advise on coastal management and approve temporary or permanent coastal protection works;
- establishing a “practical and fair” framework to ensure “balance” between protecting private property, public assets and beaches from coastal erosion.
The Minister’s media release may be accessed from here. The bill and associated material is available here.
The Disability (Access to Premises – Buildings) Amendment Standards 2010 (No.1) has been prepared to enable some minor amendments be made to existing standards for compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act. Apparently the current carpet pile height in residential flat buildings is limited to 6mm. The new standard will be 11mm. Further information may be accessed from here and amendments to the standard may be accessed from here.
The Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, has resigned from the board of the Barangaroo Delivery Authority, citing the Authority’s decision not to release financial information. A transcript of the Minister Tony Kelly’s statement in Parliament on this subject is here and a statement by the Premier is here.
