Mackay Regional Council’s planning and engineering approval process has been streamlined, with the results saving developers and Council valuable time in the pre-approval period.
Figures analysing the fourth quarter of 2006 and 2007 reveal that the time it takes Council to approve an application has fallen on average from 58 days to only 42 days. This has led to a significant 40 per cent improvement on the number of planning approvals issued.
Mackay’s Manager Development Assessment – Planning, Darryl Jones, said the implementation of a number of revised strategies has enhanced Council’s level of customer service.
“Over the past couple of months, planning requests have increased as a result of the February 15 floods, Council amalgamations and the end of the superseded planning scheme,” he said. “In one year, each planner has improved their processes by an average of 21 per cent, resulting in an overall 27 per cent reduction in application processing time. We aim to maintain this high standard.”
Darryl Jones said a number of innovative and progressive strategies were implemented to achieve these results, including:
- conducting an internal review of all processing systems, with
the view to achieving the desired streamlined outcome - introducing a new risk management program
- providing additional training for staff
- conducting peer review assessments
- working with development consultants to provide updated
information and feedback on particular projects and the
application submission process.
Darryl Jones said Council has also distributed fact sheets detailing the appropriate standard of material required from developers and residents during the approval process.
“The approval process can be further accelerated if, in the first instance, the correct material is submitted to support the approval,” he said. “The planning and engineering approval process is a joint effort between Council and developers. We are all part of the same process and collectively we need to find the solution for improved services.”
Darryl Jones said Council continually monitored and fine tuned its approval process to ensure the level of service was improved.
For further information contact Penne Kaddatz at Mackay Regional Council on (07) 4968 4444.
