Council Joins Pilot Program
Friday, 30 October 2009
Port Macquarie-Hastings Council is one of only 12 Role Model Councils in NSW to trial a new planning program: the 'Electronic Housing Code Pilot'.
At the Local Government Association conference in Tamworth NSW Minister for Planning, the Hon Kristina Keneally MP, announced the successful group of Councils jointly trialling electronic planning initiatives with the NSW Government.
Council Administrator Garry Payne said, "I am proud that this joint program between the Department of Planning and Port Macquarie-Hastings Council will be the focus for fast-tracking online service delivery in planning and will set the pace for other NSW Councils to follow later in 2010 and onwards."
Minister Keneally said, "I congratulate the 12 role model councils who successfully applied to participate in this innovative pilot program which represents a new way forward in meeting the planning needs of high-growth NSW communities."
The Electronic Housing Code Pilot is a significant collaboration between the Department of Planning and Local Government in the e-Planning area, where the use of electronic processes in delivering planning and development services can contribute tangible benefits to all planning system stakeholders.
This new initiative is part of a much broader vision to develop an e-Planning Roadmap for NSW. A key project in the e-Planning Roadmap's initial phase will be this Electronic Housing Code Pilot. Funded by the Federal Government's Housing Affordability Fund (HAF), the pilot focuses on the development of online systems for the lodgement and processing of development applications, using the NSW Housing Code as a case study.
Mr Payne said, "The use of Housing Code-based applications for the pilot will assist in fast-tracking approval processes, contributing to housing affordability through time and cost savings by reducing the resources needed to prepare, monitor and evaluate proposals as well as reducing holding costs through the faster processing and approval times.
The twelve 'Role Model Councils' selected to participate in the EHC Pilot are: Bankstown City Council; Blacktown City Council; Gosford City Council; Lake Macquarie City Council; Liverpool City Council; Port Macquarie-Hastings Council; Rockdale City Council; Shellharbour Council; Sutherland Shire Council; Tamworth Regional Council; The Hills Shire Council; Tweed Shire Council.
