Council Watch

Watching Central Coast Council on behalf of fair-minded and reasonable people.

Central Coast Council Watch

New Director of planning resigns

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Council has confirmed that the new Director of Environment and Planning has resigned.
Dr Danielle Toase began her new role with Council on Monday April 14, only four days before Easter.
In a statement released after the Easter break Council said:
“After recently commencing with Central Coast Council, Dr Danielle Toase has elected to step down from her newly appointed role as Director of Environment and Planning due to personal circumstances,” Council said.
“CEO David Farmer said he was disappointed at this outcome but respects Danielle’s decisiveness in this matter.
“Recruitment of a replacement has commenced, and Mr Jamie Loader will resume responsibility for the Directorate until further notice.”

Council announced Dr Toase’s appointment in early March saying her appointment came after an extensive recruitment process.
The Environment and Planning directorate leads functions such as Development Assessment, Environmental Management and Environmental Compliance.
“Danielle is an Environment and Planning Executive with a wealth of experience across the corporate, consulting, regulatory, research and Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) sectors,” Council said at the time.

“Widely recognised as a leader in her field, Danielle’s expertise has led her to publish over 10 academic papers and share her insights as an expert panellist and presenter at conferences across Australia, Europe and the USA.

“Danielle is motivated by the opportunity to apply her multi-disciplinary skills and experience to drive positive environmental and developmental outcomes in the community that she calls home,” Council said.

Central Coast Council is the third largest Council in NSW and it has one of the most diverse environmental and built communities, Council said.

“With a growing population, the Environment and Planning directorate are planning for continued growth and maintaining the lifestyle that is enjoyed by our community.”

Council’s department of environment and planning has come under fire for years, with high wait times for development applications (DAs) and with some developers resorting to the Land and Environment Court for decisions on DAs that have met the deemed refusal time frames.

The Property Council said the Central Coast Council assessed more development applications than any other NSW council last financial year—1,614 in total.