A review has made 15 recommendations on how Bega Valley Shire Council can improve the time it takes to process a development application.
The report by independent industry experts Morrison Low Advisory was tabled at the January Council netting yesterday afternoon.
The review examined Council’s end-to-end development assessment process, with a focus on efficiency, customer experience and assessment timeframes.
Mayor Russell Fitzpatrick said while the review highlighted a number of positive findings, it also made 15 clear recommendations on how we can improve our development assessment service to provide a more efficient and customer-focused service.
“The recommendations focus on clearer procedures, improved internal referral processes, clearer development controls, better use of technology, ongoing staff training, and clear KPIs for each stage of the development assessment process,” Mayor Fitzpatrick said.
The recommendations include adopting a new seven stage DA assessment model, stratify applications into three streams – rapid, standard and complex, revitalise the Development Advisory Panel for progress oversight, determine rapid DA’s within 28 days and provide planning staff with regular internal and external training.
Councillors resolved to note the review and requested a detailed implementation roadmap to explore how the recommendations will be delivered in practice.
