4 April, 2013
New planning system must protect the environment, promote community participation
Meaningful public participation and strong environmental protections must be cornerstones of the new planning system in NSW, said two of the state’s leading environmental organisations today.
The Nature Conservation Council of NSW (NCC) and Total Environment Centre (TEC) have prepared a checklist (attached) they will use to assess whether the NSW Planning White Paper, due to be released soon, will protect the state’s clean air and water, native wildlife and communities. In order to meet the community’s needs and expectations, the new system must:
- Place ecologically sustainable development at the centre of planning and development
- Enhance existing environmental protections
- Allow meaningful public participation in planning and development assessment
- Require decision makers to provide reasons for decisions and limit discretionary powers
- Strictly limit the ability of developers to override strategic planning controls
- Allow third parties to appeal decisions
- Require concurrence and approval by key agencies (health, environment, water, etc)
- Require the accreditation and independent appointment of environmental consultants
“Ecological sustainability and enhanced environmental protections for human health, ecosystems and species should be the highest priorities of the new system,” said NCC Chief Executive Officer Pepe Clarke. “Healthy ecosystems and healthy communities go hand in hand and must be central objectives of the state’s new planning system. The success or failure of the proposed changes will be judged on how likely they are to help achieve those twin objectives.”
TEC Director Jeff Angel said the community must have meaningful input at key stages of the planning and approval process, not just at the broad strategic level.
“While increased community involvement in strategic planning is desirable, the community must also have a say on individual developments,” Mr Angel said. “People cannot know years in advance exactly how they will be affected by a particular development or how it might affect the environment or their local area. Cutting the community out of development approval decisions can only lead to lower standards of development with serious adverse affects on the local environment. It could also create significant social dissent between neighbours, developers and government. The new legislation must marginalise those developers and their government supporters who want short cuts and to avoid proper public and environmental scrutiny.”
Media contacts
James Tremain, Media Officer, Nature Conservation Council of NSW, 0419 272 254
Ruth Hessey, Media Officer, Total Environment Centre, 0425 253293 or 9211 5022
White Paper Checklist
This White Paper Checklist, prepared by NCC and TEC, outlines key criteria for assessing whether the NSW Planning White Paper delivers a planning system that protects the environment and our communities. We’ll use this Checklist to review the Government’s Planning White Paper and report back to our concerned members and supporters on the proposed planning reforms:
- Ecologically sustainable development is the overarching object of the new planning system
- The new planning system requires decision makers to exercise their powers in a manner consistent with ecologically sustainable development
- The new planning system includes legislative provisions that will guarantee genuine and meaningful public participation in strategic planning processes
- The new planning system includes legislative provisions that will guarantee genuine and meaningful public participation in development assessment
- The new planning system prescribes a clear legislative framework and sufficient resources for strategic planning
- The new planning system strictly limits opportunities for developers to override strategic planning outcomes
- Existing environmental protections will be maintained or enhanced in the new planning system
- Code assessment will only be used for development that is genuinely low impact development
- Code assessment will not be allowed in environmentally sensitive areas
- The concurrence and approval of key agencies will be required during development assessment, including the assessment of state significant development and infrastructure
- The new planning system will mandate environmental impacts that must be considered during development assessment and prescribe objective decision making criteria for the assessment of those impacts
- The new planning system will require the accreditation and independent appointment of environmental consultants
- The new planning system will prescribe objective criteria for decision making, require decision makers to provide reasons for decisions and limit discretionary powers of the Minister and the Director General
- The new planning system will ensure that there are appropriate mechanisms for third parties to appeal planning decisions
Tags
Planning and Development
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