The NSW best- and worst-performing councils on residential development approvals

The five NSW councils with the lowest mean gross determination time for development applications in 2010-11 were:

Murrumbidgee Shire Council

Temora Shire Council

Coolamon Shire Council

Conargo Shire Council

Berrigan Shire Council

The five NSW councils with the highest mean gross determination time for develpment applications in 2010-11 were:

Boorowa Council

Tweed Shire Council

Leichhardt Municipal Council

Mosman Municipal Council

Botany Bay City Council

The mayor of Leichhardt, in Sydney’s inner west, has defended her council’s planning system despite its ranking as the slowest Sydney metropolitan council for approving development applications.

Leichhardt, which determined 448 applications valued at under $500,000, was one of only eight councils taking more than 100 days to approve developments, in gross mean terms, according to the NSW government’s annual report card on the state’s 152 councils.

Now at 115 days, Leichhardt had recorded 113 days in the year prior.

“I think the issues you need to consider are that Leichhardt Council’s local government area is the fourth most intensely developed in Australia,” Leichhardt mayor Rochelle Porteous told the Australian Financial review.

“We have some of the smallest lots of any local government area, and 70% of Leichhardt Council is heritage conservation zone.”

The 2010-11 Local Development Performance Monitoring report provides an overview of the performance of the NSW planning system and information on local and regional development determined by councils, private certifiers and joint regional planning panels.

This year’s report is the sixth in the series. 

The ongoing effects of the global financial climate are evident in the development activity results for 2010-11. Development activity fell compared with 2009-10 while the total value of development increased during the same period.

While key indicators of performance, such as the statewide average determination time across 152 councils, were similar to 2009-10, the most recent year continued the trend of fewer councils with very high average determination times. 

Overall development approvals fell by 3% compared with 2009-10. 

A total of 81,147 local development approvals (DAs and complying development certificates or CDCs) were reported for 2010-11.