Council's independent review, conducted by City Plan Services and Morrison Low consultants, identified numerous areas which are working well.

"Generally the processes and systems supporting City Planning within Cessnock Council are of a good quality. The DA tracker on Council’s website and mapping is of the highest quality available in the State. Development Application forms and the like available to the public are also of a good quality."

"The report does, however, detail several areas which require improvement," said council's general manager, Lea Rosser.

"Specifically, the report suggests that council should focus on strategic land use planning and a future vision for the built and natural environments. In total, 15 recommendations, which include human resourcing and technology issues among others, have been made in the report and these will be considered by council at its meeting on February 16."

The consultants were asked to assess Cessnock's planning function and operational framework in terms of its ability to deliver planning outcomes based on the council’s strategic land use policy documents.

Planning functions reviewed and assessed included DA Assessment, Strategic Planning, and Health and Building systems, processes and operations. During the review, the consultants spoke with councillors and planning staff as well as external stakeholders including applicants and members of the business community.

"Should council adopt the recommendations as detailed in the report, implementation of those recommendations will take place immediately," Ms. Rosser said.

"Pending council's decision, it is imperative that the community is able to see an improvement in the planning service we provide and that the community's faith is restored."