State members appointed for Sydney West Planning Panel

Joint Regional Planning Panels across the State will undergo a balanced refresh as the Department of Planning and Environment has appointed the new State members for the Sydney West Joint Regional Planning Panel (JRPP).

The new independent Chair and State Government appointed members of the
Sydney West JRPP are:

 Mary-Lynne Taylor
 Paul Mitchell
 Bruce McDonald

Mary-Lynne Taylor has also been re-appointed to continue on in her role as Chair.

Panels are independent planning bodies that make decisions on regionally significant applications valued at more than $20 million.

They are led by an independent Chair that has been appointed with the agreement of Local Government NSW and have four other members, with the State Government and local Councils each appointing two representatives.

State Panel members are appointed based on their expertise in either planning, architecture, heritage, the environment, urban design, land economics, traffic and transport, law, engineering, tourism or government and public administration.

“Planning Panels are an important part of the planning system – ensuring independent decisions are made on projects that are significant to local communities,” a spokesperson for the Department said.

To ensure independence, alternate members are also appointed for when a member needs to sit out on a decision because of a conflict of interest.

Sydney East and Sydney West Panels will be replaced later in the year by six Sydney Planning Panels, each chaired by the District Commissioner for the district.

Members of the new Sydney Planning Panels will be announced at a later date.