The Mayor of Gosford City, Councillor Chris Holstein today confirmed that Gosford City Council will be one of only 12 Role Model Councils in NSW to trial a new planning program: the ‘Electronic Housing Code Pilot’.  At the Local Government Association conference in Tamworth NSW Minister for Planning, the Hon Kristina Keneally MP, announced the successful group of Councils jointly trialling electronic planning initiatives with the NSW Government. 

Clr Holstein said: “I am proud that this joint program between the Department of Planning and Gosford City Council will be the focus for fast-tracking online service delivery in planning and will set the pace for other NSW Councils to follow later in 2010 and onwards.” 

Minister Keneally said: “I congratulate the 12 role model councils who successfully applied to participate in this innovative pilot program which represents a new way forward in meeting the planning needs of high-growth NSW communities.”

LGA President Mayor Genia McCaffrey said “The Electronic Housing Code Pilot is a significant collaboration between the Department of Planning and Local Government in the e-Planning area, where the use of electronic processes in delivering planning and development services can contribute tangible benefits to all planning system stakeholders.”

Shires Association President Cr Bruce Miller added: “This dynamic e-Planning initiative is an important opportunity for productive partnership between the Department of Planning and NSW Local Councils.  Everyone can benefit.”

This new initiative is part of a much broader vision to develop an e-Planning Roadmap for NSW.  A key project in the e-Planning Roadmap’s initial phase will be this Electronic Housing Code Pilot.  Funded by the Federal Government’s Housing Affordability Fund (HAF), the pilot focuses on the development of online systems for the lodgement and processing of development applications, using the NSW Housing Code as a case study.

Clr Holstein said: "The use of Housing Code-based applications for the pilot will assist in fast-tracking approval processes, contributing to housing affordability through time and cost savings by reducing the resources needed to prepare, monitor and evaluate proposals as well as reducing holding costs through the faster processing and approval times.

“The end game - out the other side of this important pilot – is to make it more cost-effective for government, state as well as local, to offer these services online.  We hope it will pave the way to demonstrating how - by collaborating across stakeholders and systems - we can reduce costs, further mitigate risks and deliver better outcomes for the Gosford City community and all NSW communities.”

The twelve ‘Role Model Councils’ selected to participate in the EHC Pilot are:

Bankstown City Council; Blacktown City Council; Gosford City Council; Lake Macquarie City Council; Liverpool City Council; Port Macquarie-Hastings Council; Rockdale City Council; Shellharbour Council; Sutherland Shire Council; Tamworth Regional Council; The Hills Shire Council; Tweed Shire Council.