Planning Agreement Register

Voluntary Planning Agreements (VPAs)

Voluntary Planning Agreements are legal documents created under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) between developers and government agencies (including councils) for the provision of funds or works by the developer for infrastructure, services or other public amenities. 

A Voluntary Planning Agreement (VPA) is an agreement entered into by a planning authority and a developer -

(a)  who has sought a change to an environmental planning instrument, or
(b)  who has made, or proposes to make, a development application or application for a complying development certificate, or
(c)  who has entered into an agreement with, or is otherwise associated with, a person to whom paragraph (a) or (b) applies,

- under which the developer is required to:

• dedicate land free of cost;
• pay a monetary contribution, or
• provide any other material public benefit, or any combination of them, to be used for or applied towards a public purpose.

A public purpose includes (without limitation) any of the following—

• 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 Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021 (NSW) requires that Council 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.

The following is a list of Narrabri Shire Council's Current VPAs:

Voluntary Planning Agreements as at 30 June 2022(PDF, 100KB)