Council responds to frustrated developer claims; criticism 'not acceptable'

The Bega Valley Shire Council was responding to claims published by ACM this week from Justice Fox Property Group CEO Benn Lane.

Mr Lane said more than $250million worth of investments in the shire were at risk due to DAs being held up by "the worst council I have ever experienced".

BVSC CEO Anthony McMahon said lengthening approval processes was not solely a Bega Valley issue - and criticism of council employees working through them was "not acceptable".

"Council has made no secret of the fact that over the last 2-3 years we have had a large increase in the number and complexity of DAs being submitted to council," he said.

"Unfortunately, this has coincided with a critical shortage of town planners and development engineers.

"Combined, these two issues mean our assessment timeframes have extended beyond our standard targets.

"This is not a Bega Valley issue. It is a state-wide issue, as the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces has publicly acknowledged."

Mr McMahon said BVSC had "a small but dedicated team" of town planners and development engineers "who are working exceptionally hard to assess a wide range of DAs", ranging from individual one or two-storey houses, to commercial premises and large developments like Justice Fox's proposed seniors living development in Lakewood Drive in Merimbula.

"Not only are staff under significant pressure due to the large workload and staffing gaps, but to have to deal with uncalled-for attacks on their credibility and accountability is not acceptable," Mr McMahon said.

"As all developers know, there is no guarantee that a DA will be approved - even if it is permissible in the zone - or how long the approval process will take.

"Issues such as biodiversity, fire safety and asset protection zones, traffic impacts, over shadowing and view impacts all have to be taken into account and be addressed by the development.

"If an issue is significant and it can't be resolved, the DA may not be approved.

"Depending on the development, other agencies such as Essential Energy, Transport for NSW or Heritage NSW may also have requirements that need to be met.

"All developers take these risks.

"Council is not in the business of prioritising DAs due to a developer's business decisions or threats of legal action, and we will not start now.

"We are also not in the business of prioritising DAs based on who can pay more - this is not in the best interests of our community."

Mayor Russell Fitzpatrick said following the devastation of the Black Summer bushfires, the shire had been prioritising DA assessment for bushfire rebuilds, "and we will continue to do so - we make no apology for that".

"Two years ago, council acknowledged the increase in DAs by allocating additional budget to employ more planners and development engineers," Cr Fitzpatrick said.

"Despite repeated recruitment rounds, we were unable to fill those positions. At one point, we had a 40 per cent vacancy rate in the planning services team.

"As we couldn't recruit more planners, we used the extra money to employ contract planners and development engineers.

"We have also actively used the state government's Regional Housing Flying Squad team of DA assessment planners.

"To date, 31 DAs have been assessed and approved with assistance of the Flying Squad Planners and another 24 DAs are currently being assessed.

"Unfortunately, it looks like this program might wrap up at the end of this financial year. Council will continue to advocate to the state government to continue this successful program."

Mr McMahon said, to date, council had determined six Justice Fox DAs, including five townhouses at Lake Street Eden, four dwellings at Kingfisher Circuit Eden, 10 townhouses at Calle Calle Street, Eden, 15 townhouses at Tura Beach, four dwellings at Wallaby Way, Tura Beach and a boundary adjustment at Lakewood Drive Merimbula.

"We are also actively assessing another four, including a significant proposed development at Snug Cove in Eden.

"Additionally, we are dealing with Justice Fox's seniors living DA through the Land and Environment Court process. This means an inordinate amount of staff time is redirected from vital DA assessment work to manage the appeal. Time that would be better spent assessing DAs," he said.

"What we need to do is to let our experts - our planners and development engineers - do their jobs.

"They need time to assess DAs. They need applicants to provide complete applications and respond to requests for information as soon as possible.

"And we will continue to try to fill our vacancies and get our team back to full capacity."

Mr McMahon said he was "exceptionally proud" of the work of council's development services and development hub teams.

"Yes, we have staffing gaps and DA approvals are taking longer than they should. But I guarantee you that our staff are working as hard as they can to keep development moving across the shire."