December 16, 2009
Holding costs and turnaround times on residential development approvals are set to be reduced across South East Queensland as the Council of Mayors (SEQ) moves to streamline current processes.
The initiative, which is set to benefit local developers and boost housing, will go ahead with $4.75 million in funding from the Rudd Government’s Housing Affordability Fund.
According to a Government statement, the $3.65 million Target Five Days Project and the $1.1 million Next Generation Planning Project respond to the need to reform development assessment processes regionally.
Council of Mayors (SEQ) Chairman and Brisbane Lord Mayor, Campbell Newman, has welcomed the Federal Government’s support for the initiative.
Newman explains the aim of Target Five Days is to cut processing times for straight forward, low risk applications to five days, which in turn will affect housing affordability.
“Potentially millions of dollars could be saved each year in holding costs on residential developments when processing times are reduced,” he says.
Target Five Days will also focus on improving the quality of applications, information requests and clarity of Council requirements.
Meanwhile, the Next Generation Planning initiative will look at ways to make it simpler for developers to operate across Council boundaries by standardising residential housing codes and policies across the SEQ region.
According to Gold Coast Mayor Ron Clarke, faster development assessment processes and creating affordable housing codes will also reduce costs for new homebuyers.
"It will make it easier, faster and simpler for people to get approvals to add a new room to their house or build a unit development, for example. This is an innovative solution by councils to help solve the current housing shortfall and affordability issues across the region," Clarke says.
This week’s latest cash injection is part of the Federal Government’s $512 million Housing Affordability Fund, which is designed to reduce planning and infrastructure costs of building new housing developments.