Sydneysiders Want Experts To Decide On Development

A survey released today by the Property Council of Australia revealed that Sydneysiders want "experts" to make planning decisions on large developments.

The survey was conducted by Newgate Australia with 1,000 residents across metropolitan Sydney and shows that while councils are rated positively at consulting with the community on developments, they are rated poorly for being open and transparent, processing development applications and on town planning.

“The research has shown us that Sydney councils should focus on strategic planning and providing better services for the community and the decisions on development proposals worth more than $10 million should be made by independent expert panels,” Property Council NSW Executive Director Jane Fitzgerald said today.

Of those surveyed:

• 85% agreed that politics and self-interest should be taken out of planning decisions

• 81% agreed that planning decisions for developments worth more than $10 million should be made by experts

• 79% agreed that planning decisions should be made in a consistent way across councils

• 75% agreed that planning panels could keep potential corruption out of planning decisions

• 69% agreed that planning panels mean getting things done faster

• Only 25% of respondents rated their councils positively on processing development applications

• Only 31% of respondents rated their councils positively in being open and transparent

• The worst ratings relate to council decisions on larger commercial and apartment building projects (23% and 25% positive respectively).