The Wellington Planning Scheme (the Planning Scheme) was reviewed in 2010. The purpose of the review was to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the Planning Scheme in achieving the objectives of the planning framework established in the Planning and Environment Act 1987.

In particular, the review involved a comprehensive appraisal of Wellington Shire Council’s local planning policies, zones, overlays and incorporated/reference documents to identify:

• How effectively the Planning Scheme set out policy objectives for the use and development of land in Wellington;
• Whether the scheme makes effective use of available planning provisions to achieve State and local planning policy objectives;
• What, if any, areas require further strategic or technical work;
• What, if any, amendments need to be made to improve the scheme as a result of the above.
  

Council formally adopted the Wellington Planning Scheme Review on 17 August 2010.

The review proposed a significant number of changes across all sections of the Planning Scheme which fell into one of two categories:

• Those that would create a policy change, thus requiring further work and significant consultation with authorities and the local community; and
• Those that would be ‘policy neutral’ and could be implemented without further consultation.

Planning Scheme Amendment C70 was formally adopted by the Minister for Planning on 19 December 2013 and incorporated the ‘policy neutral’ changes into the Municipal Strategic Statement to align the formatting of the Local Planning Policy Framework (LPPF) with the State Planning Policy Framework (SPPF).