Page 2613 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 28 June 2011
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For smaller developments—single to multi-unit developments—my proposals would have made it mandatory for the developer to do a letterbox drop to the surrounding area that will be affected by the development, provide email and phone contact details for feedback to be provided on the information which is distributed to the community, and host one community meeting.
I have had a lot of complaints from members of the community that they simply were not notified about changes which were going to happen very close to them. This at least is something we can change. Here, I have to agree with the statement by the previous planning minister, Mr Barr, in April that “it is the role of the proponent to consult with the community on the proposed development and it is the role of the proponent to advocate for the development”.
The government has now committed to introducing its own amendments to the Planning and Development Act to further clarify the role of the proponent in consulting with the community prior to the lodgement of certain development applications.
My amendments, which would also have covered the range of notification arrangements for development applications, essentially notched up the level of notification for each level of track assessment. That is to say, code track and exempt developments would be subject to what are currently minor notification requirements, that is, to notify property owners and give them 10 days for comments. This is not to say that the community in fact needs a huge level of comment on these applications. It is more to avoid what I call the Arthur Dent situation.
You all probably recall Arthur Dent, who is the main character in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, who one day wakes up to find that bulldozers are outside, wanting to demolish his house to make room for a highway. Not only was his house being demolished; the whole context of the story was that Earth was being demolished to make way for an intergalactic space highway. And when Arthur asked the aliens why no-one on Earth had been notified, they responded by saying that it had actually been in the galaxy notifications and that it was just a pity that earthlings did not have access to these communication channels. I think a lot of people in Canberra feel the same way.
Thus I believe that even if neighbours have not got a right to comment on a development, they certainly have a right to know if the house next door is about to be demolished and replaced. It is a bit disturbing to come home and find that the house that was there in the morning is not there in the evening. I speak from experience on this one.
Minor public notification would be broadened to having a notice displayed on the site and notifying neighbouring proprietors and residents within the greater of either 200 metres of radius from the proposed development site or two houses down.
As it currently stands, only adjoining neighbours, those who immediately abut or are directly opposite the property for which the development application has been lodged,
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