Railway Parklands
Regional planning scheme
The Toowoomba Region has a strong sense of identity and it is important that we continue to provide the tools for regional planning that ensure the future viability of our townships that promote local employment opportunities , community participation and access to housing choices . This year saw the furthering of the ePlanning project that looks to digitise the development application process . The use of an online tool for the development industry to utilise a structured , faster development application process will ensure a positive customer experience for our community , as well as the governance of data and tracking of service level agreements .
Strengthening commercial development relationships
The Toowoomba Region has a lot to offer and not only do Council focus on the importance of tourism , but also on the economic development of the towns in our region . We are actively working to invite new residents , potential business enterprises and investors to experience everything we have to offer . This year through a number of meetings , Council have successfully matured symbiotic relationships with key stakeholders to ensure the future economic and commercial development opportunities available . This included liaising with the Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicines Authority regarding the possible relocation from Canberra to Toowoomba , working with local real estate agents and investors around the Priority Development Area , City Centre Master Plan , car parking , industrial and agricultural opportunities , hotel builders and operators , medium density high rise unit developers , as well as transport and logistics operators .
Planning instruments , codes and legislation
It is a great responsibility of Council to ensure the safety and compliance of works across the region including plumbing , building certification and development applications . Each year , Council assesses and determines the compliance of plumbing permit applications and this year more than 2,000 of these applications were approved . All plumbing work in Queensland is regulated by the State Government and includes Council ’ s oversight of complianceassessable work .
Promoting an environment of high quality work and ensuring the safe execution of plumbing and drainage has resulted in 6,241 approval inspections being carried out as part of Plumbing and Drainage Form 4 inspections . Of the 184 notifiable works , Council actively inspected the sites to ensure we have met tour 5 per cent audit requirement under the Plumbing and Drainage Act . Over 40 per cent of these notifiable works inspections identified non-compliant work with reporting to the Queensland Building and Construction Commission ( QBCC ).
This year saw Council investigate low-risk transactional applications and how as an organisation we can better service these and fast track required paperwork . The Planning and Development team have implemented its FastTrack system , an accelerated assessment of low-risk , code-assessable development applications that comply with our eligibility criteria . This year , FastTrack applications were generally completed within ten business days from the decision-ready stage .
Maintaining the region ’ s character
As our region and infrastructure continue to grow , it ’ s important that Council looks for ways to maintain the character and preserve important buildings . This year has seen Council schedule and commence $ 140,000 worth of works to the RSL Soldiers ’ Memorial Hall in Toowoomba . These works have included over $ 90,000 of electrical upgrades to improve the lighting and much-needed maintenance of the overall amenity . This building will continue to serve as an important association for veterans and the community .
Flood risk assessment
With a commitment to gathering historical flood data and planning to minimise the future risk of flooding in the region , this year saw Council complete a flood vulnerability survey . This survey formed the basis of flood risk assessments and planning evaluations and the finalisation of the Flood Risk Assessment and Planning Scheme Amendment Project progressing to final review . This year also saw the completion of the Consolidated Flood Risk Assessment and Planning Evaluation Report and the commencement of the Flood Risk Information Portal to prepare the flood hazard overlay . The next stage of consultations will take place in the 2016-17 financial year .
TOOWOOMBA REGIONAL COUNCIL Annual Report 2015 - 2016 Our goals CHAPTER 4 95