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Collapse Issue 467 - 08 Apr 2019Issue 467 - 08 Apr 2019
Collapse  NEWS NEWS
Development action groups to consider joining forces
Mehrtens questions generator pollution at Woy Woy tip
Palm Beach ferry runs aground
Technical failure blamed for ferry grounding
Nursing home approved for sensitive bushland
ACF branch to raise Hillview St objections with Ministers
Celebrating 100 years
Approval to strata subdivide Atlantis building
Chamber calls for 'swift action' on local planning panels
CCTV cameras installed at Umina
Anzac Day services around the Peninsula
Veterans' families to receive commemorate crosses
Environment network to screen seismic testing film
Labor promises second Ettalong foreshore project
Money raised to restore community garden
Almost a tonne of waste taken from Empire Bay waters
Feedback wanted on water price drop
Charity run to include new event
Bays group holds annual meeting
Easter book fair held for 43rd time
Events planned for Youth Week
Free school holiday activities
Free activities for families with young children
Kids' market will have Easter theme
Volunteers receive community service awards
Pride of workmanship awards have been presented
Rotary to develop better communication strategies
Ulysses motorcycle club looks for new members
CWA members take out competition awards
CWA vegan scones in demand at festival
Trees planted at CWA hall
Men's Shed to hold garage sale
Dinghy retrieved from channel
Garage sale for Sydney eye hospital
Produce swap at community garden
Easter hat parade
Elders speak on Harmony Day
Suicide awareness program to run at community centre
Charity lunch for disabled surfers' association
Pre-school children visit retirement village
Collapse  FORUM FORUM
Ettalong commercial zone should have three-storey limit
We need to address State planning laws
Time for exhaustive consultation again
Controls are designed to prevent the worst development
Seriously reckless behaviour in school traffic
Consider an independent
Collapse  HEALTH HEALTH
Creating a 'warmer softer environment'
Cancer diagnosis was at once a relief and devastating
New plastic surgeon at hospital
Knitting blankets for charity
Collapse  ARTS ARTS
Author to speak at art exhibition launch
New gallery has launched
Collapse  EDUCATION EDUCATION
Text messages used to chase parents of absentees
Musicians and singers perform under the stars
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Photography students make pin-hole camera
Grant for a new garden
Selling cakes on election day
Chinese folk dancers for Harmony Day
Students learn history from Grandpa Fred
Hall redevelopment
Learning about native wildlife
Parents' group seeks volunteers
Keep sick children at home, principal asks
Collapse  SPORT SPORT
Jemma Smith named for three international events
Southern Spirit juniors finish an undefeated season
Ettalong junior part of winning Central Coast bowls side
Umina juniors contest grand final
Bowlers celebrate work of their patron
All swimmers competed in finals
Rugby league players selected for schoolboy teams
Stridsman trains in Colorado Springs
Jemma Smith featured in national campaign
Ettalong competes in summer league
Ettalong women's major singles final

Chamber calls for 'swift action' on local planning panels

The Peninsula Chamber of Commerce has urged the NSW State Government to honour its pre-election commitment to introduce local planning panels.

"Now that the State Election is out of the way and the Berejiklian Government has been returned, the Chamber is looking for swift action on the Government's commitment to introduce the Local Planning Panel system to the Central Coast," said Chamber president Mr Matthew Wales.

"The development industry is continuing to see lengthy delays in the processing of major development applications worth over five million dollars as Council still struggles to deal with the volume of DAs and the mandatory referral of these matters to Council meetings if more than 15 submissions have been received".

"This is continuing to cause major delays for many significant applications and the unnecessary referral of matters to Council which should otherwise be managed by Council's highly qualified professional staff," he said.

"The introduction of local planning panels, with independent members assessing applications, would take considerable pressure off the local Council and allow it to concentrate on running the affairs of the city rather than being side-tracked by complex development issues.

"Local planning panels bring greater expertise, transparency and integrity to the development assessment process at a local level and have proved highly successful in the Sydney Metropolitan Region and Wollongong.

"The last thing the industry wants is a back log of DAs being tied up in Council meeting for months on end only to be refused despite recommendations from staff that the applications should be supported.

"This will also result in an increase in Land and Environment Court Appeals as applicants seek redress through the Court system which only serves to add costs to the development which is ultimately passed onto the consumer.

"Having an independent assessment process that is at arm's length from the Council and will eliminate local politics interfering with the merit-based assessment of development applications.

"Council's current inflexibility with regards to variations to development standards is causing uncertainty in the industry and threatens to undermine investment confidence on the Central Coast.

"It is imperative that the NSW State Government gets on with the job of implementing the planning panel regime to the Central Coast so that the building and development industry has more certainty in the processing of major applications," Mr Wales said.





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