ACT engineering standards will be applied to the Parkwood development. Photo: NSW Planning Portal.
Yass Council has locked in more expensive standards for a major cross-border development.
Parkwood is the NSW component of a planned ACT-NSW development, which is expected to feature multiple neighbourhoods and thousands of homes.
The NSW and ACT governments, and Yass Valley Council, previously signed a ‘Parkwood Protocol’ agreement that will ensure residents have access to necessary services and infrastructure to live comfortably.
Yass councillors briefly discussed the development at a recent meeting, in which councillors unanimously decided to adopt a set of ACT standards for the project.
During the discussion, councillor Alvaro Charry said the Parkwood project was at a key planning stage.
“Supporting this to go to public exhibition is an appropriate procedural step.
“It keeps Yass Valley Council ahead of the development curve, and ensures our community has a transparent opportunity to engage.
“I look forward to continuing this discussion and deliberation related to this major critical development within the Yass Valley LGA [local government area].”
The change means part of Yass Valley would be held to ACT engineering standards (affecting how it would manage underground services, concrete kerbs, traffic signals and stormwater management), despite its location in NSW.
In council meeting papers, these standards are described as having a higher upfront cost and resulting in more long-term maintenance than those for NSW.
“However, the developer has requested the implementation of these standards in order to achieve a consistent development approach across the project site, and the Parkwood development will be subject to a different rating structure to the rest of Yass Valley Council, which will negate the long-term maintenance impacts from a financial perspective,” the document states.
The document indicates that under existing regulations, some works could be done without consent on the NSW side, but would be against planning policy on the ACT side of the border.
The meeting documents also state that the Parkwood Development Control Plan (DCP) is being finalised and is expected to be on exhibition shortly (subject to a separate go-ahead from councillors).
The meeting heard that while it is being developed by consultants, YVC staff are also reviewing the document.
Work on the document started in late 2024, after the council gave it the green light.
The adoption of the ACT engineering standards means they will apply to the area covered by the Parkwood DCP and the Yass Valley Local Environmental Plan (Parkwood) 2020.
“The controls within the ACT documents are consistent with the environmental sustainability, walkability and intended built form of the area covered by the Parkwood DCP,” the documents state.
(Standards for the rest of Yass Valley remain unchanged.)
Council staff are also developing a set of engineering standards for Yass Valley, in addition to existing polices about road standards and stormwater drainage.
“The draft DCP aims to ensure that the border between NSW and ACT is not a feature nor noticed in day-to-day activities, built form and services,” the meeting agenda states.
Yass Council documents state the first Parkwood development application is expected to be lodged in 2027.
“The draft Parkwood DCP contains controls on how neighbourhood plans are to be developed as well as finer details for subdivisions, infrastructure provision, built form and open spaces.
“The controls for built form and open spaces are, for the most part, consistent with the controls applied to development with ACT and take into account council’s strategies in these areas.”
