With a serious shortage of planning staff Bega Valley Shire Council is asking for help from the community while also starting a new training program.
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Council is one of 11 member councils of the Canberra Region Joint Organisation (CRJO), which has been successful in securing CRJO funding for 10 female employees to train in planning.
It follows $25,000 funding to pay tuition fees for a new planner as well.
Council's CEO and Chair of the CRJO CEO/general manager group, Anthony McMahon said councils across NSW were struggling to assess development applications as quickly as both they and the public would like.
Mr McMahon explained the funding, allocated to the CRJO by a Training Services NSW Innovation Fund, would allow existing female employees to undertake four training modules, which would provide the pathway to planning qualifications.
"Although it won't mean we immediately have more planners to assess DAs, it's an important first step in the training pathway," Mr McMahon said.
In the meantime council is calling on the community to help address delays in development assessment planning.
Council's director of community, environment and planning, Emily Harrison said staffing shortages are continuing to affect development approval timeframes.
"In the 2022/23 financial year, council's planning team approved 563 DAs, with an average approval timeframe of 110.72 days," Ms Harrison said.
"This is much longer than we would like. This isn't just a Bega Valley issue - many councils in NSW are struggling with staffing shortages in these areas," she said.
But it has resulted in an increase in people asking for an update on their DA and every request meant a town planner had to stop their work assessing the DA to provide an update.
"We're also getting multiple requests for updates from multiple people on the same DA. This is why we streamline all communication through the applicant, that is, the person who lodged the DA in the Planning Portal," Ms Harrison said.
"If you weren't the person who lodged the DA, instead of contacting us for an update, please contact the applicant who did the lodgement as they will have the latest information available," Ms Harrison said.
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Construction certificates, building inspections, occupation certificates, s138 certificates and subdivision certificates are also affected by delays.
If you are waiting on a DA approval, council said there are things you can do to help reduce delays:
- Email enquiries regarding your specific development application to mailto:council@begavalley.nsw.gov.au and mark it for the attention of the relevant assessment planner.
- Limit contact with the assessment planner to a single representative for the applicant only.
- Note the assessment planner will contact community members who make a submission directly for any clarification if required. Multiple contacts about submissions are not necessary.
- Use email or leave a voice mail when contacting the assessment planner if they're not able to take your call.
- Applicants - Use the Planning Portal to find information relating to development applications.
- General public - Use Council's DA Tracker to find information relating to the status of development applications.
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