North Sydney Local Planning Panel (NSLPP)

An aerial view of the North Sydney CBD

The North Sydney Local Planning Panel (NSLPP) consists of independent experts who consider and determine Development Applications on behalf of Council and provide advice on other planning matters, including planning proposals.

Overview of the North Sydney Local Planning Panel

  • Panel review of Development Applications

     

    The Panel is only required to hold a public meeting when a Development Application has attracted 10 or more unique submissions of objection. 

    Development Applications that have received less than 10 unique objections will be determined after the public meeting, held digitally at 2pm on the first Wednesday of each month.

     

    1. Panel review of Planning Proposals

       

      A Planning Proposal must be referred to a Local Planning Panel for advice before Council can determine if it should be forwarded to the Department of Planning and Environment (DPE).

      Once reviewed by NSLPP and its advice issued, the Planning Proposal is reported to a Council meeting. Councillors then decide whether the proposal should proceed to the DPE, who will either give a Gateway Determination to allow Council to publicly exhibit the Proposal, or refuse the Proposal from proceeding any further.

      Due to the low volume of Planning Proposals being lodged, NSLPP meetings for Planning Proposal are only held when required. These meetings will typically occur on a Wednesday, other than the first Wednesday of the month which is dedicated for the consideration and determination of DAs.

       

    2. North Sydney Local Planning Panel Members

       

      The Panel Chair has the responsibility of selecting the most appropriate panel members for each meeting based on the likely issues.

      Two expert members and one community member will be selected for each meeting on a rotating basis. An alternate chair may also be nominated to replace the principal chair based on availability, and in the event of conflict of interest.

      • Panel Chair: Dr Robert Stokes
      • Alternate Chairs: Alison McCabe and Vincent Hardy
      • Expert Panel Members: Scott Barwick, Judy Clark, Lloyd Graham, Vanessa Holtham, Kara Krason, Andrew Martin, Stuart McDonald, John McFadden, John McInerney, Rosalind Read, Mike Ryan, Jeremy Swan, Lisa Trueman, Annelise Tuor, Gerard Turrisi, Sue Weatherly and Greg Woodhams.
      • Community Members: Virginia Waller, Kenneth Robinson, Lindsey Dey, Meredith Trevallyn-Jones, Karla Castellanos and John Bohane

       

       

    3. Public comment on proposed developments

       

      Written submissions to the Local Planning Panel

      Submissions to the North Sydney Planning Panel (NSLPP) must be received no later than 5pm on the Monday before the Panel meeting.

      Submissions should be no more than two A4 pages in length, contain photographs which illustrate any areas of concern, and include the submitter's contact details.

      Submissions will be acknowledged by the Panel individually to form part of the recording, but they will not be read out in their entirety.

      Addressing NSLPP meetings

      Panel meetings are held digitally at 2pm on the first Wednesday of each month.

      Interested parties who wish to address a NSLPP meeting should contact our Customer Service Centre and ask to speak to our NSLPP Coordinator.

      Once registered, you will be provided with a link and code to enable you to join the public teleconference.

      On request, and at the chair's discretion, the proposal applicant may attend in person to present confidential or commercially sensitive material.

      Email: NSLPP@northsydney.nsw.gov.au

       

    4. Panel meeting process

       

      Anyone participating in the North Sydney Local Planning Panel public meeting will form part of the video recording of the meeting, which will be published on Council's website. All NSLPP meetings will be held in the following order:

      1. The panel chair will introduce other members of the panel, call for any declarations of interest, and set out the meeting process.
      2. The panel will then hear from those who have registered to speak - the chair will read out the name of the person whose turn it is to speak, and the applicant will speak last.
      3. All participants are to remain silent unless invited by the chair to speak, those listening or waiting their turn to speak should have their phone or microphones muted.
      4. After listening to all speakers, the Chair will ask each Panel Member if they have any questions of the speakers or the applicant.
      5. The chair will then close the meeting.
      6. The decision of the Panel will be published on our website by the end of that week, and will include an audio recording of the meeting. 

       

       

    NSLPP meeting agendas, reports and minutes can be viewed below. Please note that file sizes have been reduced for website viewing - please contact Council if you wish to view the full size files for a Development Application or Planning Proposal.

    North Sydney Local Planning Panel meetings and minutes

    Written submissions to the Local Planning Panel

    Submissions to the North Sydney Planning Panel (NSLPP) must be received no later than 5pm on the Monday before the Panel meeting. Submissions should be no more than two A4 pages in length, contain photographs which illustrate any areas of concern, and include the submitter's contact details. Submissions will be acknowledged by the Panel individually to form part of the recording, but they will not be read out in their entirety.

    Addressing NSLPP meetings

    Panel meetings are held digitally at 2pm on the first Wednesday of each month. Interested parties who wish to address a NSLPP meeting should contact our Customer Service Centre and ask to speak to our NSLPP Coordinator. Once registered, you will be provided with a link and code to enable you to join the public teleconference. On request, and at the chair's discretion, the proposal applicant may attend in person to present confidential or commercially sensitive material.

    Development tracking

    You can search for current and past development applications and planning proposals on our Application Tracker.

    Find a development

    Development consents

    You can see all approved developments in the North Sydney Council area for the last three years in our list of development consents.

    View consents

    Related NSLPP policies

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