Two Clarence Valley Council planning initiatives that are helping unlock housing and improve development approval times have been announced as finalists in the 2026 Planning Institute of Australia Awards for Planning Excellence.
Council has put forward its Accelerated Development Application Service in the Performance and Innovation in Development category, while the Clarenza Urban Release Area Structure Plan and Development Control Plan, delivered in partnership with De Groot and Benson, has been entered in the Strategic Planning Project category.
Acting General Manager, Adam Cameron, said the nominations recognised the work happening behind the scenes to make development easier and help meet the Clarence Valley's future housing needs.
"There isn't one simple solution to housing. We need to make it easier to deliver homes that are ready to be built today, while planning carefully for the communities we'll need in the decades ahead.
"These two projects demonstrate the practical work Council is doing at both ends of that challenge.
"It's fantastic to see the innovation and expertise of our staff, and the work we're doing with our partners, being put forward for recognition at a state-level."
Launched in July 2024, Council's Accelerated Development Application Service provides a dedicated assessment pathway for eligible, fully compliant development applications.
Using an applicant-led, risk-based assessment process, eligible applications are prioritised while proposals involving increased risk, variations to planning controls or neighbourhood impacts continue through Council's standard assessment process.
The service has achieved average approval times of just eight to nine days, well below Council's 20-day target. It was developed entirely in-house using existing Council systems, staff and budgets, with no additional fees for applicants or ratepayers.
Following its success, Council expanded the service in February 2026 to include Construction Certificates, minor modifications, subdivision certificates and selected rural development.
Meanwhile, the Clarenza Urban Release Area Structure Plan and Development Control Plan lays the groundwork for approximately 1,000 new homes and a future population of around 3,000 residents on flood-free land close to Grafton. This planning work was made possible through a successful grant under Round 2 of the NSW Government's Regional Housing Strategic Planning Fund, which enabled Council to prepare contemporary studies and planning controls to address longstanding servicing, staging, road and water infrastructure requirements that had constrained development since the land was rezoned in 2009.
The project adopts a landscape-led design approach, using existing ridgelines, vegetation and drainage corridors to help shape the future community while supporting biodiversity, climate resilience and walkability. The adopted Structure Plan and Development Control Plan provide greater certainty for landowners, developers and infrastructure delivery while balancing housing growth with environmental protection and the creation of two future village hubs.
