Historically, the planning system in New South Wales has been complex in nature, ultimately impacting on land release, housing supply and infrastructure planning.
To address this, we began in 2018 the biggest overhaul to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act since it was introduced 40 years ago.
Some of the world’s most prominent planners and designers recently came together at the annual Living Cities forum in Sydney to talk about planning and beyond.
These changes put strategic planning at the forefront of the planning system, create stronger foundations for community involvement through community participation plans, and emphasise the importance of design.
Amendments also recognise the importance of the Greater Sydney Commission’s district plans by requiring councils to prepare a local strategic planning statement (LSPS) and local environmental plans (LEPs) to give effect to the district plans.
We expect those LEPs to be reviewed every three years to ensure they meet and adapt to community needs because we recognise those needs will change over time.
Meanwhile, the Metropolis of Three Cities plan sets out a big vision for the future of Sydney. Developed in conjunction with NSW’s State Infrastructure Strategy 2018-2038 and Transport for NSW’s Future Transport Strategy 2056, this is part of a recalibration and reorientation of the planning system to focus on people, place and public spaces and integrated delivery of infrastructure.
New South Wales is growing, and it is the Department’s job to foresee and plan for it, providing certainty for communities across the state. We want to make our planning system work better for everyone, focusing on necessary infrastructure delivery and a simpler contributions framework to support it.
