The Nature Conservation Council of NSW has welcomed the decison by the new State government to abolish Part 3A of NSW's planning laws, beginning with an immediate halt to new applications.
Premier Barry O'Farrell says the scrapping of Part 3A would be done in stages. In the first phase, no new Part 3A applications for private residential, commercial, retail or coastal development will be accepted.
The Minister for Planning will now draw up detailed plans to repeal Part 3A permanently when Parliament resumes. with transitional arrangements put in place for the more than 500 Part 3A applications already in the system.
The plan for the first 100 days of the new NSW government includes establishing a Planning Review Panel to start drafting a new Planning act, "with wide community consultation".
State of Planning in NSW
Last year, the Nature Conservation Council of NSW and Total Environment Centre commissioned a report from the Environmental Defender’s Office NSW on the State of Planning in NSW.
It provides detailed recommendations to restore balance, integrity and legitimacy to the NSW planning and development process, including 10 key elements needed for an effective new Planning act.
Read more on the State of Planning report here.
Photo: Renegade Paul
