Housing has been the most talked about issue since thousand of Lismore locals and those in nearby LGAs were displaced on February 28.

Ten months later, we know we have government funding through the Resilient Homes Program ($700 million) and the Resilient Land Program ($100 million). The Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation has received over 250 expressions of interest for residential land. Those expressions are now being diligently assessed and ready for development applications to be presented and agreed to by Lismore City Council.

To speed up and improve the predictability of the land and housing planning processes to support flood-recovery efforts, the NSW Government has announced the creation of a local planning panel for Lismore.

The panel will be made up of independent experts and community representatives to determine contentious and complex development applications and provide advice on other planning matters.

Lismore City Council is calling for Expressions of Interest (EOI) from Lismore residents who would be interested in joining the planning panel. Community representatives are not expected to be experts in planning matters but bring local knowledge and experience to the decision-making process.

The Lismore Planning Panel will include four members:

• a minister-appointed chair with expertise in law or government and public administration
• two independent experts appointed by Lismore City Council (from a minister-endorsed pool of candidates)
• a community representative appointed by Lismore City Council to ensure local insights and knowledge are considered as part of the panel’s decision-making.

Lismore Council is seeking to appoint a minimum of four (4) community representatives to a pool that can be utilised as needed. Councillors, property developers and real estate agents are ineligible to be panel members. The selection criteria for community representatives are that they:

• are current residents within the LGA
• have an understanding of the LGA and issues of concern to the local community
• have the capacity to form independent views and to contribute constructively to the determination of applications
• are able to demonstrate a basic level of understanding of the planning system, (i.e. knowledge of the council’s local environmental plan, development control plan, local strategic planning statement or community strategic plan)
• are committed to following the Code of Conduct for Local Planning Panel Members and the Local Planning Panels Operational Procedures; and attending local planning panel meetings and completing panel business in required timeframes.

The statutory requirements for members and details of remuneration can be found at https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/Assess-and-Regulate/Development-Assessment/Local-Planning-Panels/Statutory-rules

The Lismore Planning Panel will commence its functions as soon as practicable after 13 February 2023. Expressions of Interest are open until Tuesday, 31 January 2023. To express an interest, go to https://yoursay.lismore.nsw.gov.au/eoi-lismore-planning-panel