Having been formally made on Friday 19 September 2014, the Palerang Local Environmental Plan 2014 is now available on the NSW government legislation website.
The primary motivation for the new PLEP has been to bring the whole of the Palerang LGA under a single planning instrument, rather than the six distinct planning instruments that have been in force since Palerang was formed. Unlike previous LEPs, many of the actual clauses in the new LEP will also be common to all LEPs in NSW, making planning regulations across the state much more consistent.
While the language has changed, and the terminology may at first be a little unfamiliar (for the avid reader of planning legislation), people should feel comfortable that, whatever rumours might have been circulating since the PLEP first went on exhibition nearly 2 years ago, for most, if not all, there will, in particular, be no practical change in rural residential planning and land use practices. The more significant changes actually occurred in our ‘urban’ areas, as they transitioned from what were essentially rural villages to towns, with a somewhat more complex planning regime.
Nonetheless, there was concern in some rural residential areas over the use of the E4 (Environmental Living) land use zone to replace the former Yarrowlumla 1(d) zone. It should be noted, however, that the PLEP was developed over the terms of three Councils, under two different Planning Directors, in consultation with staff from the NSW Department of Planning working under two different heads (the previous Director General and the current Secretary), under two NSW State governments, one Labor and one Liberal/National, and in the latter under two different Planning Ministers. At every level in the development process, after every Council, Departmental and Ministerial review, the present E4 zoning has been recognised as the most appropriate, as it was in the adjacent Queanbeyan LGA.
From Council’s perspective, working with a single LEP will simplify the task of applying consistent planning policy across the shire, although planning policy doesn’t end with the LEP. The next step is the development of a single Development Control Plan (DCP) to replace the 20-odd DCPs currently in use. As I have explained in previous posts, the DCP sits under the PLEP in the planning hierarchy and provides more detailed guidance on how specific aspects of the LEP are intended to be applied.
Pete Harrison ~ The Palerang Blog cross-reference
16 May 2016 @ 13:00
[…] Palerang LEP 2014 […]
Palerang Community Voice ~ The Voice cross-reference
16 May 2016 @ 16:11
[…] and policies will be, as far as practicable, a composite of those of the former councils. The PLEP will remain in force for the area of the former Palerang Council until a new LEP is prepared by the […]