Council, at its extraordinary meeting on 28 February 2023, resolved to exhibit the Draft Managing Council-Related Development Policy and the amended draft Community Participation Plan.

This aims to provide more transparency and accountability for applications, including both development and modification applications, where council has an interest in and that it is also the consent authority. A development application is an application to seek consent or approval to carry out a development while a modification application is an application to modify a consent or an approval in an earlier development application.

The draft policy aims to effectively manage applications where there is considered conflict of interest by council. This applies to developments where council is the applicant, developer landowner or has a commercial interest in the land the subject of an application, where council is also the consent authority.

The draft policy is a response to the changes proposed by the Department of Planning and Environment to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021 that will commence on 3 April 2023. Part of the proposed changes is to amend the Community Participation Plan requiring all council-related developments be notified to the public for a minimum period of 28 days. The Community Participation Plan sets out how council undertakes community participation in relation to planning and development.

The draft policy and Community Participation Plan are on public exhibition from 1 March 2023 to 28 March 2023.

Written submissions or comments can be made until 5pm 28 March 2023 and should be sent to the General Manager, Strathfield Council, PO Box 120, Strathfield NSW 2135 or emailed to council@strathfield.nsw.gov.au.

For more information, please contact Patrick Santos, Senior Planner, on 9748 9995 or email patrick.santos@strathfield.nsw.gov.au