The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) has issued advice to councils and planning authorities during the COVID-19 outbreak, urging them to work together to support the communities they serve.
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Rob Stokes said the Coronavirus pandemic was creating new challenges that required changes in behaviour.
“This is disrupting the way businesses and service providers ordinarily operate,” Mr Stokes said.
“For instance, over the past week some retailers, supermarkets and other businesses are struggling to meet the unprecedented consumer demand we are experiencing,” he said.
“Restrictions on delivery times and truck movements in development consents are exacerbating this situation by limiting retailers’ ability to respond to community needs.”
Mr Stokes called on Councils across the State to adopt a flexible and pragmatic approach to enforcement and compliance action.
He said Councils should consider relaxing time restrictions and movement caps for deliveries in existing development consents for retailers such as supermarkets and other key service providers.
“I encourage Councils to continue to maintain open lines of communication with important service providers including retailers and suppliers as this situation evolves as new issues and challenges arise,” Mr Stokes said.
“It is important that we all work together pragmatically and consistently during this exceptional period to respond to this evolving situation.”
