13 October 2010
On 20 September we reported that the NSW Department of Planning was consulting on a new draft Interim Guideline for Part 3A Residential, Commercial and Retail Projects.
We have now reviewed the draft guideline and have found that it raises some significant policy issues.
Sections of the draft guideline do provide some welcome clarity as to how the current ministerial discretion to authorise a concept plan application will be exercised. However, large parts of the document assume the existence of a discretionary decision-making power that was, in fact, abolished by the Department of Planning in July last year. Other parts of the document attempt to create a two stage assessment process by turning (what should be) an informal pre-DA discussion into a formal element of the decision as to whether a project is Part 3A.
In short, we have not supported moves that are effectively a further reduction in the (already very narrow) scope of Part 3A. Our submission is here.
