New planning template will lower environmental standards
Tuesday, 01 November 2005 10:00
A proposed standardisation of all Local Environment Plans (LEPs) across NSW will lower planning, development and environmental protection standards to the level of the worst councils in the State according to a peak environment group.
The Total Environment Centre has criticised the LEP Standard Template as being a "based on the lowest common denominator" rather than raising all councils' planning instruments to a level that truly reflects the need for sustainable planning and development outcomes in 2005.
"The LEP gives even more flexibility to councils to add inappropriate land uses to environment protection zones, rural zones and residential zones. At the same time there is no opportunity for councils to tailor environment protection zones to clearly protect particular fragile environments such as wetlands, escarpments, dunal systems and creeks" said Coastal Planning Campaigner Fran Kelly.
"Where councils have spent many years developing stronger LEPs that truly reflect the different types of environment in their locality, while offering certainty to developers and the community, this "one-size-fits-all" LEP will take them back to a broad brush approach that offers maximum flexibility to developers and minimum community and environment protection," said Ms Kelly
"The LEP not only endorses councils that allow major development in environment protection zones, but enables other councils to follow the same path of those that have no concern for the environment. With pressure from developers to do so, it will be harder for all councils to resist, especially with threatened court challenges."
"There is no environment protection zone that prohibits development, including in national parks. And most of the environment protection provisions are just set out as weak considerations rather than actual rules. It is not surprising that the property industry and developers have so enthusiastically endorsed this LEP Template," said Ms Kelly.
"While there is a need to try and standardise and simplify some aspects of planning it should not be at the expense of good sustainable outcomes. The LEP template fails to change the problem of flexibility and ambiguity in council LEPs that has caused so much grief."
For more information contact Fran Kelly on 9299 5599/5680
For further information
Contact
:
Fran Kelly - Coastal Planning Campaigner
Phone
:
61 2 9299 5599
Email
:
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WWW
:
http://www.tec.org.au/
