SA planning reforms good for growth

SA planning reforms good for growthThe Property Council says the proposals put forward in a recent report by South Australia’s Expert Panel on Planning Reform will help to unlock much-needed investment and development projects for the state.The expert panel says the ideas contained in the report, titled Our Ideas for Reform, will change the way planning is viewed and undertaken across government. And it says the reforms put forward will improve the everyday planning practices of professionals and the experience of the system by citizens.”The reform ideas in the report have a lot of merit,” said Property Council of Australia acting executive director in SA, Lino Iacomella.”What we like about the report are the ideas to create a planning system that will assist South Australia to grow through property investment and development,” he said. “This means creating a truly independent and expert-based system to assess development applications and a streamlined approvals process.”If this means creating a planning commission, then [it’s] definitely worth looking at.”Iacomella welcomes the creation of a state planning code, which he says will assist in the streamlining of planning regulations in local areas and with development across the state.”It’s also refreshing to have a discussion about innovative ways to fund infrastructure around new developments that include options [to] incentivise development rather than kill off a project at the start,” Iacomella said.”This report is perfectly timed for South Australia, which needs an urgent injection of policy reform to enable growth to occur.”Download a copy of the report here