Appeals process going smoother

DELAYS in the Town Planning Appeals Tribunal process have long been the bugbear of the development industry, however, the appeals tribunal has recently undergone fundamental changes and it appears protracted delays may become a thing of the past.

Town Planning Appeal Tribunal principal registrar Belinda Maharich announced last week that the tribunal’s backlog of planning appeals had finally been cleared.

This also included the 77 appeal cases Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan handed over to the tribunal when the Planning Appeals Amendment Bill 2002 was proclaimed.

The tribunal now streams planning appeals into two classes.

Appeals relating to developments less than $250,000; residential developments less than $500,000; and subdivisions of three lots or less fall into class one and are able to be determined by a single tribunal member. Larger developments or subdivisions fall into class two appeals and require a three-member tribunal hearing.