Lord Mayor's message

Once a development application has been received by Council, it is placed on public exhibition for the community and public authorities to provide comment. Public notification advertising can range from 14 days to 28 days.

At the conclusion of the public notification process and upon receipt of advice from parties that were consulted, the application is assessed in accordance with the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, 1979. The whole process can take a few days, weeks or even months.

In some circumstances Council officers need to seek expert advice and obtain the appropriate approvals from other authorities before informed decisions can be made. Even when the Development Application assessment process is nearing completion concerns of residents have to be considered and these concerns can be addressed through a Mediation process with the applicant or Public Voice to the full Council.

In the case of Newcastle Post Office the determination of the DA will be reliant on advice from the NSW Heritage Office. Council has no control over the length of time this advice may take. Council cannot proceed until this advice is received. There may then be other issues that need to be addressed or outstanding advice sought from other parties.

The key point is applications and in particular applications for heritage buildings, do not occur in a vacuum. External approvals need to be gained and information provided from many different sources throughout the assessment process and this can take time. Unfortunately some of this is out of Council’s hands.

Send your comments about this message to lmayorsmessage@ncc.nsw.gov.au or go to council's website and fill in the online feedback form.