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1. Who can amend the Singleton LEP 2013?

The Singleton LEP 2013 is legislation prepared under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act 1979). Under the EP&A Act 1979, the NSW Minister for Planning has the power to amend the LEP. In some instances, however; the Minister may delegate these functions to Council.

2. What role does Council play in amending the Singleton LEP 2013?

Singleton Council, as the relevant planning authority for the Singleton Local Government Area (LGA), can request that the NSW Minister for Planning amend the Singleton LEP 2013. 

The formal process that Council must follow for such a request is termed the “Gateway process”.

3. Can a land owner initiate a request to amend the Singleton LEP 2013?

The EP&A Act 1979 provides that the owner of land can request Council to consider a proposal to amend the Singleton LEP 2013 in relation to their land. Once receiving such a request, Council undertakes a pre-gateway review of the amendment proposal to determine whether it has merit.

4. How does an owner request Council to consider a proposal to amend the Singleton LEP 2013?

A formal process (Pre-Gateway Review process) applies to requests made to Council to amend the Singleton LEP 2013:

• Payment of the “Pre-gateway review of LEP amendment request” fee in accordance with Council’s adopted fees and charges;
• Lodgement of a completed Pre-gateway review of LEP amendment request form;
• Lodgement of complete documentation as identified on the Pre-gateway review of LEP amendment request form.

Once a request for a pre-gateway review has been lodged, it will generally proceed through the following process (timeframes are indicative only):

• Documents registered into Council’s record keeping system, acknowledgment letter sent to applicant and request allocated to processing officer for review (generally within 10 business days of initial lodgement);
• Processing officer inspects the site subject of the LEP amendment request and reviews the LEP amendment proposal against relevant legislation, strategies, planning directions and guidelines to determine whether the proposal contains sufficient information to determine whether the proposal has merit and whether processing of the request should be supported.
• Processing officer issues written advice to the applicant (generally within 40 business days of being allocated the LEP amendment request) that:
  • the LEP amendment request is considered to have merit; or 
  • the LEP amendment request is not supported.

5. If Council has issued written advice that my LEP amendment proposal has merit, what do I do next?

After the pre-gateway review process, the next step is for the Council to prepare a planning proposal based on the information lodged for the pre-gateway review. The fees for preparation of a planning proposal and for the individual steps associated with the gateway process are identified in Council’s adopted fees and charges schedule. Fees are invoiced at relevant stages throughout the process.

6. What can I do if Council has not supported my LEP amendment request?

If Council has issued written advice that it does not support a LEP amendment request, the land owner may either:

• lodge a revised or updated LEP amendment proposal to Council for review. The revised request will incur the “Pre-gateway review of LEP amendment request” fee and require lodgement of a new lodgement form and submission of a new set of supporting information; or 
• lodge an application for an independent pre-gateway review of the LEP amendment proposal directly to the NSW Department of Planning and Environment. Further information about the associated fees and lodgement process can be obtained from the NSW Department of Planning and Environment.

7. What do I do if Council has not responded to my request for a pre-gateway review?

If Council has not issued written advice to the applicant (as identified on the lodgement form) within 90 days of receiving a pre-gateway review request, the land owner may:

• Contact Council to determine why written advice has not been issued; or
• Lodge an application for an independent pre-gateway review of the LEP amendment proposal directly to the NSW Department of Planning and Environment.