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You can help address delays in DA planning

Council is calling on the community to help address delays in development assessment planning.

Two men looking at a house.

6 September 2023

Bega Valley Shire 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, however we’ve had a significant shortage of planners and development engineers over the last two years.

“This isn’t just a Bega Valley issue – many councils in NSW are struggling with staffing shortages in these areas.

“Due to these delays, we’re seeing an increase in people asking for an update on their DA. While this is understandable, every request means a town planner has to stop their work assessing the DA to provide an update on its progress.

“We’re also getting multiple requests for updates from multiple people on the same DA.;It could be the applicant, the owner, the builder and the architect are all asking the same question at the same time.

“This is why we streamline all communication through the applicant, that is, the person who lodged the DA in the Planning Portal.

“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.

“Unfortunately, it’s not just DA assessment timeframes that are currently longer than expected, but also construction certificates, building inspections, occupation certificates, s138 certificates and subdivision certificates.

“We are working as hard as we can to address these issues, including employing contract staff wherever possible, but without a full complement of staff we are currently limited in what we can do.”

If you are waiting on a DA approval, 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.
Making an enquiry

All media enquiries and interview requests are coordinated by Council's Communication and Engagement team under the adopted Communications Policy. To view this policy, visit Public Policies and search 'communications'.

To submit a media enquiry or to request an interview:

Councillors

Councillors can be contacted directly for enquiries regarding decisions of the elected Council and non-operational matters. Interviews with the Mayor should be arranged through the Communication and Engagement team contact details above.

Receiving information

If you’re a journalist or media organisation that would like to receive media releases and notifications about media opportunities, please email your name, title and contact details to media@begavalley.nsw.gov.au and we will add you to our distribution list.

You can also subscribe to Bega Valley Together and Business News, Council's fortnightly e-newsletters, or follow @begavalleyshirecouncil on Facebook  and Instagram.

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