PLANS for projects worth more than a combined $233 million have been lodged with Bathurst Regional Council, coming as a somewhat of a surprise considering the year that 2020 was.
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The COVID-19 pandemic created a lot of uncertainty for people, with thousands of Australians losing their jobs and others having to transition quickly into working from home.
Council was also put in a position where it had to come up with some economic stimulus measures to help the Bathurst community through the tough times.
Despite the difficult year, though, the number of development applications (DAs) received by council was well up on 2019.
Council received a total of 673 applications in 2019, with 454 being DAs and the other 219 being Complying Development Certificates (CDC).
Together, they had a total value of $170,113, 112.
This compares to 580 DAs and 290 CDCs, a total of 870 applications, in 2020 with a value of $233,687,460.
Mayor Bobby Bourke said council had not expected to see numbers like this.
"The number of DAs in any time period is always hard to predict but it is fair to say the increase in recent months is more than expected," he said.
"Council is working on the basis that the trend will continue, although there is insufficient data to confirm that at this stage."
As part of its economic stimulus measures, council introduced a raft of fee reductions aimed at the construction and building industry.
These measures included a 50 per cent reduction to DA fees, DA modification fees and subdivision application fees.
There was also a 50 per cent reduction in DA subdivision release fees, DA advertising fees, Section 68 approvals fees, and Section 68 approval to operate fees.
Cr Bourke said these stimulus measures were a factor in the increase in DAs and CDCs.
"The stimulus measures approved by council through the mayoral minutes dealing with COVID in 2020 are undoubtedly a contributing factor; however, there are other issues including relocation to regional areas from Sydney, the introduction of the new Planning Portal, new home buyer subsidies and changes to the investment environment generally, that are also playing a part in contributing to the rise in numbers," he said.
He added that the increase had created a challenge for council staff, but to their credit they were able to determine 454 of the 536 applications received in the last six months of 2020.
