The sudden policy change has elevated Orange City Council general manager Garry Styles to a position of extraordinary power.

He now has the authority to automatically green-light any development application provided it meets the relevant rules and regulations.

The only development applications councillors will now have any say on will be the ones planners believe should be refused.

Cr Davis said the move would take emotion and politics out of the increasingly contentious issue of development.

“Yes it’s legal, we won’t be the only council doing it and as for creating a corruption risk, I think it would actually make corruption less likely,” he said.

“I think we’ve got to a point where all and sundry are influencing decisions on things that deserve to get a guernsey because they tick all the boxes.”

Councillors Chris Gryllis, Sam Romano, Fiona Rossiter and Jeff Whitton supported the mayor’s plan.

Jeremy Buckingham, Peter Hetherington, Neil Jones, Reg Kidd and Gavin Priestley opposed the motion.

With the outcome tied, Cr Davis used his casting vote to push the reform through at a meeting this week.

“This is an assault on democracy,” Cr Buckingham said.

“The mayor has completely removed the community’s voice in determining controversial planning decisions because their elected representatives now play no significant role in determining developments.

“If councillors want to remove communities’ involvement in planning they can do so, but they’ll do it at their own electoral peril.”

Cr Davis sighted the recent refusal of a tavern, restaurant and bottle shop in north Orange as an example of how councillors make planning decisions based on emotion rather than fact.

“That development ticked all the boxes but we voted to knock it back, myself included,” he said.

“In 27 years in local government I’ve never been ashamed of anything I’ve done, but I am not afraid to say I was ashamed of that decision.”

Under the new policy, the tavern would have been automatically granted consent because staff had recommended it be approved.

During the last 12 months, 45 development applications went before councillors for a decision.

Of the 35 developments planners recommended be approved, just one, the tavern, was refused, highlighting how rare it is for councillors to refuse permissible developments.

Currently, 89 per cent of development applications in Orange are approved by council staff under delegation.

Controversial, unpopular or high value applications go before councillors.

In Dubbo and Port Stephens, 99 per cent of developments are approved by staff, 98 per cent in Lithgow, 95 per cent in Bathurst and 97 per cent in Newcastle.

n Rescission motion filed, page 3

bevan.shields@ruralpress.com