The Property Council of Australia today called on the State Government to develop a detailed program with the local government sector for the delivery of the Tasmanian Planning Scheme that will give certainty to the building and construction industry.
“The Tasmanian Division has been a long-term supporter of a single state-wide planning scheme, but in the current positive development market a prolonged or piecemeal approach to its delivery is not acceptable.
“The building and construction industry is making decisions right now based on the incoming changes foreshadowed by the State-wide Planning Scheme. There needs to be certainty in the timing of these changes and they need to be communicated.
“With 29 councils unwilling to merge and very limited State planning resources, a sophisticated project management mechanism must be put in place to facilitate the delivery of the Tasmanian Planning Scheme,” said Executive Director Brian Wightman
Mr Wightman raised issues concerning timeframes and with meeting the expectations of stakeholders.
“Some councils are completely under-resourced to complete the task, whilst the Tasmanian Planning Commission will have to both assess the council generated provisions and hold hearings with respect to public representations for 29 municipalities. Even assuming a conservative average of one week of hearings per council this equates to 145 days of hearings, which will be an enormous strain on both State Government and local government resources, let alone the reporting associated with them.
“We would like to see the State Government utilise the $300,000 provided in the State Budget to project manage and deliver a coordinated approach to the preparation and implementation of the State-wide Planning Scheme. And if more money is required, then it should be found,” he said.
The Property Council of Australia looks forward with anticipation to the full and coordinated implementation of the Tasmanian Planning Scheme.