Taking council out of the equation

Imagine waking up to find the cottage next door to you is being knocked down to make room for a row of townhouses.

Unknown to you, the design has already been approved by some dubious authority and you have no say on the matter.

This is what we face in NSW because of a State Government (Department of Infrastructure Planning and Natural Resources) taskforce scheme to deregulate the development approval (DA) process.

Under the plan up to 70 per cent of residential DAs will have automatic approval and neighbouring residents, the community and their local council representatives will have no right to object or modify the construction.

Not surprisingly, this plan has largely been driven and shaped by developers and our pro-development State Government.

Taking council out of the equation makes it easier for developers to get building approval at the expense of everyone else.

Deregulation will hasten the overdevelopment of our neighbourhoods and put increased pressure on existing infrastructure.

Rather than weakening regulations, government should be strengthening planning laws and building conditions to make them unambiguous and enforceable.

Urban planning, zoning powers and development approval belong in the hands of the community and local government.

Michelle Cairns, Woy Woy