New planning controls providing consistent guidelines when Central Coast Council is dealing with development across the region came into effect on Monday, August 1.
The harmonisation of planning controls from the former Gosford City Council and Wyong Shire Council have been several years in the making.
The consolidated Central Coast Local Environmental Plan 2022 and Central Coast Development Control Plan 2022 now provide a consistent planning framework for the region as a whole.
A Council spokeperson said this would lead to greater efficiency in preparing and assessing development applications which would benefit the community, investors and Council staff.
“It’s enormously beneficial to have consistency in planning controls across the region as the smoother process for development applications and assessment encourages investment and provides a boost to local jobs, and increases quality housing and infrastructure for our growing population,” the Council spokesperson said.
The Local Environmental Plan (LEP) is the primary legal planning document for guiding land use and planning decisions made by Council.
Through zoning and development controls, it allows Council to manage the way in which land is used to strategically plan for the region and shape and support local communities.
It is supported by the Development Control Plan (DCP) which details planning and design guidelines.
Since the amalgamation in 2016, Council staff have undertaken extensive community and stakeholder consultation and worked diligently to review and combine the most appropriate, and generally the most flexible, provisions from the former planning instrument and controls.
The extensive consultation resulted in 750 public submissions from agencies, residents and councillors, which provided valuable input and helped to create a contemporary and consolidated LEP and DCP which reflects community priorities.
In the future, the LEP 2022 will be updated as required, in response to emerging strategic priorities for the Coast.
The LEP applies to about 95 percent of the Local Government Area, with the remaining land either the Gosford City Centre, which is subject to its own controls under State Environmental Planning Policy (Precincts Regional) 2021 Pt 5.8 Gosford City Centre, or “deferred land” under the LEP 2022, which remains subject to The Interim Development Order 122 and Gosford Planning Scheme Ordinance.
The next stage of updating the Central Coast LEP will be the environmental lands review, which will seek to apply contemporary land use zones to these deferred lands.
These proposed changes are expected to be publicly exhibited before the end of 2022.
Development applications will be assessed on the Development Control Plan and Local Environment Plan current at the time of lodgement with Council.
The Central Coast DCP and LEP will be used for development applications lodged from August 1, 2022.
Development applications accepted by Council prior to August 1 will be subject to the provisions of the planning controls in force at that time.
Source:
Media release, August 1
Central Coast Council