Bega Valley Shire: Councillor’s plan to decrease regional development application wait times

Annoying and extremely long development application wait times on the NSW south coast could soon be slashed, with a plan to review what councils can do to turn the tides.

House being built. Picture: Generic.

A south coast councillor is calling for incredibly long development application [DA] wait times to be closely examined and slashed.

Wait times for DAs across the Bega Valley Shire have, in some instances, been longer than 12 months for residents applying for simple additions to their homes, or developers wanting to construct new residential dwellings.

The wait times are not only impacting residents across the coastal LGA, with multiple Sydney regions also experiencing major delays.

Bega Valley Shire councillor and deputy mayor, Mitchell Nadin, is calling for an audit and service improvement review into his council’s DA processes to work out how they can be made quicker and more effective.

“What this audit and review is going to do is identify our weaknesses and opportunities and look at what are best practices,” Mr Nadin told this publication.

Bega Valley Shire councillor and deputy mayor, Mitchell Nadin. Picture: Supplied

He said the audit – which would be completed by an independent body – would provide the council with ways to improve DA wait times.

“It’s not just about wait times though, it’s about the complexities of DAs too,” Mr Nadin said.

Bega Valley Shire Council. Picture: Facebook

The coastal councillor said the audit findings could also be presented to the NSW Government.

“We’re hoping this can become a larger thing and DAs more efficient in other NSW regions,” he said.

Other areas facing prolonged DA wait times include Georges River, with an average wait of 289 days, North Sydney with an average wait of 266 and Sutherland with 258 days.

“If the state government takes into account the recommendations made in the report, other local government areas can also benefit,” Mr Nadin said.

Bega Valley Shire Council mayor, Russell Fitzpatrick. Picture: Supplied

Recently re-elected Bega Valley Shire mayor, Russell Fitzpatrick, previously said he would continue fighting to decrease DA wait times in the region.

Mr Fitzpatrick campaigned on the issue during the 2024 local government elections.

“It’s something I’ve been working on even before I was mayor,” he said.

“The approval times are too long and it’s something we’re going to have to really focus on.”

The motion for the audit and service improvement review will being put to the council by Mr Nadin on Wednesday.

It states that lowering DA wait times and improving the overall process would have a positive impact on needed housing supply in the region.

Got a news tip? Email us at [e-mail]