Last month, the council held its mayoral election where I was grateful to be elected as mayor for the next two years.
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Having served in the position previously I am all too aware of the responsibilities that come with the role.
One of my initial areas of focus will be to ensure council continues to deliver on its core promise of improving essential public services and infrastructure.
Central to this is will be the improvement of development application processing times.
It’s important that we recognise that many councils across the state are struggling with a shortage of qualified planners and certifiers. Compounding the issue in our shire are the number of new subdivisions recently released, including Nattai Ponds, Renwick, Retford Park, Throsby Views and Darraby Estates.
These new developments have resulted in the number of development applications received by council in the last seven years increase by a third.
Last year, development applications across the shire peaked at 1,266. Applications across all development categories are also up from 3,500 last year to almost 5,000 applications this financial year. This is despite the council recording the equal lowest average assessment days in 2017 over that seven year period.
However, we think further improvements can be made. Councillors are seeking reassurance from council that timeframes for both residential and commercial applications are lowered even more.
I’m pleased to report that the council is tackling the issue by setting up some key changes behind the scenes. Management have reviewed internal practices and implemented structural and staff changes. A number of new initiatives have been introduced and we’re already seeing new housing approval times fall.
The process for one such initiative began last month whereby councillors agreed to place on public exhibition the draft ‘Notification of Development Proposals’ policy. One of the key outcomes of this policy is to lower DA determination times for new dwellings in low impact urban release developments, by removing neighbour notification requirements in new subdivision areas.
Management is all too aware that the number of DAs is only set to increase when developments such as the Chelsea Gardens and Coomungie projects kick off.
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Next Friday, October 26, the council will be launching this year’s Southern Highlands Arts Festival at Retford Park.
The month-long festival will be officially opened by Jennifer Bott AO, chair of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), chair of the Bundanon Trust and artistic director of the Canberra Writers Festival.
Held throughout the month of November, the festival will feature a host of exhibitions, workshops, musical and theatrical performances and the always popular Southern Highlands Art Studio Trail.
To learn more about this year’s festival, including the list of participating studios and the Art Studio Trail map, download the program at www.shaf.com.au. Hardcopies of the program can also be picked up at council’s Moss Vale Civic Centre, the Mittagong Welcome Centre or council libraries.