Inner West Council backs LEP amendment on design excellence

Inner West Council has endorsed a planning proposal to amend Clause 6.9 Design Excellence in the Inner West Local Environmental Plan 2022 at its ordinary meeting on 16 June 2026.

The motion was carried at the council meeting in Ashfield Service Centre, which began at 7.32pm. Council will now forward the proposal to the Minister for Planning for a Gateway Determination under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

Council also asked the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure to authorise it as the Local Plan Making Authority. If that approval is granted, council will delegate plan-making functions to the General Manager, or nominee, under the LEP Making Guideline.

If the Gateway Determination is positive and its conditions are met, council will place the updated planning proposal and supporting documents on public exhibition for at least 28 days and consult public authorities.

The General Manager, or nominee, has also been given delegation to address Gateway conditions and to amend minor errors or procedural matters.

The amendment sits within a wider planning agenda at the meeting. Council also received the quarterly report on the Major Residential Development Panel, which covered its operation, development assessment performance, customer experience initiatives, internal referral improvements and housing delivery activity.

Council endorsed amendments to the panel’s terms of reference as part of that item.

For residents, the proposal is tied to how major developments are assessed under the Inner West Local Environmental Plan 2022. The minutes do not spell out the wording of the Clause 6.9 changes, but they confirm that design excellence is the part of the plan being amended.

The planning item now moves to state review, then public exhibition if it passes that stage. Council will revisit the proposal after the exhibition period ends.

The same meeting also dealt with a series of other planning, procurement and local infrastructure matters, including electricity procurement through SSROC PEERS, the GreenWay community governance review, and notices of motion covering Smidmore Street in Marrickville, Trafalgar Lane in Annandale, Young Street in Annandale and Johnson Park in Dulwich Hill.