The Property Council has welcomed the NSW Government's announcement of projects to be funded under their $250 million Public Spaces Legacy Program, which links State government funding grants for open space to the delivery of improved development assessment (DA) processing times for local councils.
"Local communities benefit from private sector investment in the homes, offices and buildings of the future, so it makes sense to tie funding for improved local amenity to the timely approval of new development," the Property Council of Australia's NSW Executive Director Jane Fitzgerald said today.
"We are pleased to see local councils across the state taking advantage of this incentive and other forms of strategic staff support offered by the State government to assist in unclogging processing delays at the local level.
"The economic challenges of 2020 have sharpened the focus of all levels of government to stabilise the economy and provide a pathway toward economic recovery - a steady pipeline of recently approved projects is an important part of making this happen."
The NSW Government has confirmed 60 councils are participating in the program.
The plan sees Councils receive funding of up to $5m for open space projects. Councils will have until the end of this month to demonstrate they have met DA assessment performance improvements to lock in their full allocation of funding ahead of construction starting from August.
"It is critical that councils deliver the improved processing times that this program envisages," Ms Fitzgerald said.
"The Productivity Commissioner's White Paper delivered at the beginning of this week outlined a potential $5 billion economic uplift from planning reform.
"Post COVID we need to ensure that the planning system is as efficient and effective as it can be."
