Salisbury Council calls for more time to consider new 3000-page Planning and Design Code
One of Adelaide’s biggest councils has called for more time to consider sweeping changes to the state’s planning regulations, which are attracting widespread criticism.
North & North East
Don't miss out on the headlines from North & North East. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Planning changes will fast track housing applications
- Make the most out of your Advertiser subscription
Salisbury Council has called for more time to consider sweeping changes to South Australia’s planning laws.
Mayor Gillian Aldridge has written to Planning Minister Stephan Knoll urging an extension of the consultation period for the new Planning and Design Code.
Councils and other stakeholders have been given until the end of February to provide submissions, with Mr Knoll wanting to introduce the new regulations next July.
Under the proposed changes, the new code will replace 72 individual development plans with a single set of statewide planning rules which will be managed on a new digital platform.
Various groups have raised concerns, particularly over the release of the code as a draft 3000-page document instead of being available digitally.
Serious errors and omissions are being detected by key stakeholders such as councils, urban planners and building industry groups as they forensically examine the new code.
In her letter, Ms Aldridge said council staff had found a number of problems as they went through the 3000 pages. They were seeking an extension of the consultation period.
“It is providing difficult and resource intensive for council to review the document in the current form,” she said.
“The current (pdf) format of the code is neither a practical tool nor is it easy to understand.
“The code should be released in its electronic form for effective community engagement so our residents and businesses can better understand the implications for their properties.”
Ms Aldridge said while Salisbury Council supported the need to change planning laws, they had to be introduced in collaboration with local government.
“The consultation process is considered to be inadequate for the nature of the change, and our community hasn’t been provided a genuine opportunity to understand and meaningfully shape what is being proposed,” she said.
“Given the significance of the code, together with the other instruments that are being prepared to implement the new system, consideration should be given to providing more time for effective collaboration.”
In a report to the council, staff said the community engagement over the new planning rules “falls short of what should be reasonably expected for a major planning reform process”.
“An initial assessment is that the engagement process is insufficient for the scale of change being proposed, the lack of a digital presence so people can clearly under the policy implications for their property is undesirable and a number of technical issues have been identified,” it said.
The staff report said the council was “generally supportive of the intent behind the planning reform process and the outcomes the process sought to achieve”.
“However, the way in which the Planning and Design Code has been developed, the quality and accuracy of consultation material and the engagement process has not matched the State Government’s own charter,” it said.
“In particular, desired outcomes relating to a shared planning vision, involving the community in planning, delivering critical infrastructure and a simplified development assessment process appear not to be achieved.”
Mr Knoll said the State Planning Commission had opened up consultation on the planning changes for “an unprecedented five months”.
‘There has also been thorough consultation on many aspects of the proposed reforms to date and with the new code set to come into affect on 1 July next year we need to keep moving,” he said.