The development industry has welcomed new guidelines released by the state government today for the preparation of structure plans.
Planning Minister John Day said the guidelines were designed to increase efficiency and effectiveness across the planning system, by making structure planning more consistent and easier to understand.
Structrre plans represent the broad agreement of land use between developers and local governments.
“These guidelines standardise the format and content of structure plans and clarify both statutory and non-statutory aspects,” Mr Day said.
“Furthermore, they detail the specific information that must be provided for each type of structure plan and reflect the state government’s commitment to streamlining the planning process and represent an important step forward for planning reform.”
Urban Development Institute of Australia WA chief executive Debra Goostrey said under existing arrangements, district structure plans can take up to three years to get through the approvals system.
“The level of detail in some circumstances meant that developers virtually had to provide plans completed to subdivision level of detail which was expensive and time consuming,” Ms Goostrey said.
“The winner in the end is the consumer, as this will simplify and streamline the process, saving both time and money that, in this competitive market, will be passed on to consumers.”
