Development Assessment Performance Report Considered By Council
Published on 16 May 2024
Development Assessment Performance Report Considered by Council – Strategic Solutions to Overcome Challenges
Council at its meeting on Wednesday, 15 May, considered the Development Assessment Performance Report.
The report outlined the many challenges posed by the industry staffing shortage and other challenges faced by Council and detailed its strategy for improving the Development Assessment Process going forward.
Lisa Miscamble, General Manager, Wingecarribee Shire Council emphasised Council’s commitment, stating, "Council is committed to overcoming these challenges and improving the services we provide. A lot of work has already been undertaken to streamline processes and ensure that there are sufficient resources available, the results of which will be seen over the next 6 months"
"Through intensified recruitment efforts for permanent staff and innovative attraction initiatives, we are attracting high calibre people," she explains. Lisa highlighted that new specialist panels will also be established to assist with improving access to specialist advice, in particular in the areas of heritage and ecology, rather than relying on one or two providers. "These Panels will provide access to quality of advice as well as improve efficiency and assessing times" Lisa adds.
It is important to note that the backlog of historical applications contribute to longer average processing times. More recent house building applications will not generally experience this length of time.
Other initiatives recently introduced include introduction of the Application Tracker which provides detailed information on Applications; the ability to make submissions on line and enable community members to ‘follow’ applications as they progress through the assessment process milestones.
Council is also working closely with the NSW Department of Planning in relation to improvements to the NSW Planning Portal and will be submitting an application under the State Governments Early Adopter (Technology) program to further streamline the process.
“The significant work that has been undertaken by Council Officer’s has provided a strong foundation, the result of which will become evident over the coming 6 months,” said Lisa.