New South Wales Department of Planning
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The New South Wales Department of Planning (DOP) is a department of the Government of New South Wales with responsibility for the administration of the state's planning system and the assessment of major development applications. The Department is also responsible for the co-ordination of land releases for new housing stock and local government adherence to State planning law in determining development and rezoning applications.
The Department's powers are drawn from the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act.[1]
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[edit] Structure
The Department reports to New South Wales Minister for Planning Frank Sartor. The head of the Department is its Director-General, Sam Haddad.
The Department has seven divisions[2]:
- Cities and Centres - responsible for the State Government's Centres Strategy, and for detailed regional plans for Wollongong, Gosford, Penrith, Parramatta, Liverpool and Newcastle;
- Heritage - responsible for maintaining State heritage sites and recommending new heritage listings;
- Major Project Assessments - responsible for assessing development applications covered by the State Environmental Planning Policy (Major Projects);[3]
- Metropolitan Planning - responsible for determing strategic land uses in Sydney and the Central Coast;
- Strategic Sites and Urban Renewal - responsible for planning the development and reuse of specified sites including universities, hospitals and major residential subdivisions;
- Rural and Regional Planning - responsible for land use strategies in rural centres; and
- Corporate Governance - responsible for the administration of the Department itself.
The department employs over 200 staff.
[edit] Ancillary functions
In addition to its core planning responsibilities, the Department administers a number of State Government programs and properties including:
- BASIX - an energy and water savings scheme for new housing stock;
- the Callan Park (Special Provisions) Act 2005 - determining conditions for future development at Callan Park in inner Sydney;
- the Western Sydney Parklands - a major regional park stretching from northwest to southwest Sydney; and
- Smoke alarms - State laws mandating the installation of smoke alarms in all NSW homes.[4]
[edit] History
The Department was established in October 2005 when the former Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources (DIPNR) was disamalgamated.
[edit] References
- ^ NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act. Parliament of New South Wales (1979). Retrieved on 2007-05-05.
- ^ Planning Executive. NSW Department of Planning (July 2006). Retrieved on 2007-05-05.
- ^ State Environmental Planning Policy (Major Projects). Parliament of New South Wales (2005). Retrieved on 2007-05-05.
- ^ Smoke alarms. NSW Department of Planning (May 2006). Retrieved on 2007-05-05.
