Voluntary Planning Agreement Register

A Voluntary Planning Agreement (VPA) is an agreement entered into by a planning authority and a developer in association with a development application or a change to an environmental planning instrument.  A VPA enables a developer to make a contribution towards a public purpose, which can include:

• the provision of (or the recoupment of the cost of providing) public amenities or public services,
• the provision of (or the recoupment of the cost of providing) affordable housing,
• the provision of (or the recoupment of the cost of providing) transport or other infrastructure relating to land,
• the funding of recurrent expenditure relating to the provision of public amenities or public services, affordable housing or transport or other infrastructure,
• the monitoring of the planning impacts of development,
• the conservation or enhancement of the natural environment.

The contribution can be  provided through the dedication of land free of cost, the pay a monetary contribution, or through the provision of any other material public benefit, or any combination of them, to be used for or applied towards a public purpose.

A VPA cannot be entered into unless public notice has been given and an explanatory note is made available for inspection for at least 28 days.

Once Council has entered into a  VPA, it must maintain a planning agreement register for public inspection.  The register must include:

• a short description of any VPA that applies to the area of the Council,
• the date the agreement was entered into,
• the names of the parties, and
• the land to which it applies.