More than 100 development industry professionals, along with Councillors and Council staff, attended the ‘Building a strong foundation for the future’ forum at Central Coast Council on Wednesday 19 March.

The event offered a forum for Council to better understand the barriers to development and for the industry to better understand Council’s processes.

Central Coast Mayor, Lawrie McKinna said the event generated helpful insights, ideas and improvement suggestions.

“It was gratifying that so many industry professionals took time out of their schedules to participate,” Mayor McKinna said.

“Our Council processes the highest volume of planning applications in NSW, with more than 2000 lodged last year.

“We’re a busy region with a growing community. Understanding of each other’s concerns can help us work together on solutions.”

Mayor McKinna said Council’s new Development Assessment Improvement Project was well received.

“People are telling us they’re frustrated with local and state planning and want more collaboration.

“I’m proud of the significant efforts being made to improve Council processes.

“We’re committed to recruiting the right people, streamlining systems, and improving our communication and customer service,” Mayor McKinna said

“The forum gave us an opportunity to show participants how they can achieve faster processing times by submitting more complete applications.”

Mayor McKinna added the forum is the first step in a long-term journey.

“I’d like to thank all participants, staff and Councillors for their input. I’m optimistic that by working together we can achieve great development outcomes for the Central Coast.”