Lachlan Shire Council along with others across Central NSW, are calling for roadblocks to housing supply to be removed and better enablement to fast-track development in the region.
“Since Covid and changing the way we work, there has been ongoing pressure to relocate to the regions,” Lachlan Shire Mayor, Councillor John Medcalf OAM explained.
“If you add to that the significant construction activity in Central NSW and its proximity to Sydney and Canberra – the need for more housing is particularly acute.
“There are so many ways that the government can help besides direct funding. As a member of the Country Mayors Association, I totally support the call for the Building Country Homes Program to be part of the September State Budget.”
Councils are short-staffed while struggling with the regulatory framework as they try to fast-track development applications and building certificates, Mayor Medcalf added.
“We know we need to move faster, but it is so very hard when wading through red tape,” he stated.
“The State has gone completely silent on its mandatory Planning Portal. Everyone struggles with this in regional NSW. Developers loathe it and Council has had to direct additional staff resources, to help manage this clunky process that takes at least three times as long to process a development application.
“As a result of managing problems, like the State Planning Portal and the State Biodiversity Offset Scheme, we need more staff. However, planning staff are hard to find.
“There is a Flying Squad set up by the Department of Planning to help with these shortages and process development applications– it needs to open its door wider to the needs of Councils including diversifying their assistance to other complex developments to keep up with the continuing development pressure.”
According to Mayor Medcalf, a particular concern in Central NSW is the need for more health and building surveyors.
“Building surveyors are getting as rare as hens’ teeth,” he revealed.
“We are asking the NSW Government to extend the type of programs they have to grow and support workforce for planners to building surveyors.
“This includes funded and supported training pathways.
“If the NSW Government could give some serious thought to streamlining processes and filling the gaps in workforce shortages, regional Councils will be able to do so much more not just in times of crisis – like at the moment – but for every other year into the future.”