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Report card on planning performance

Wednesday November 5, 2008

Staffing shortages in Cobar Shire Council’s planning department last year have shown through in a Performance Monitoring Report released by the NSW Department of Planning this week.

The ‘report card’ assesses the performance of 152 councils over the 2007-08 year in processing development applications (DA), as well as a number of factors related to approvals and planning.

Cobar was listed among the top 20 councils with the highest number of development applications determined per full time DA staff equivalent.

According to the report, Cobar Shire Council had just 0.5 equivalent full time staff processing 108 DAs throughout the year.

Cobar also had the fourth most significant change in DA approvals per full time staff from the previous year.

According to the report, the 232 per cent change is most likely due to either a rapid increase in DAs or loss of staff, or a combination of both.

Last year Cobar Shire Council determined a total of 108 DAs, estimated to be worth around $22 million (well above the group average).

Other councils in the group include Dungog, Snowy River, Kyogle, Blayney, Forbes, Lachlan, Narromine, Uralla and Wentworth.

The most common type of DA approvals granted in Cobar were single new dwellings, making up 33 per cent of approvals compared to the group average of 19 per cent.

Cobar also issued a high percentage of Complying Development Certificates (36 per cent of all DAs).

The gross average time (ie number of calendar days taken for DA approvals) in Cobar was 50 days, below the group average of 59 days.

It was found that the more a proposed development was worth, the longer it took for determination.

Commercial, retail and office space approvals took much longer to approve than residential approvals, on average taking 78 days in Cobar.

The figure is also much higher than the group average of 41 days.

Cobar Shire Council staff determined 98.1 per cent of Das, with councillors determining the other 1.9 per cent.

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