Council CEO outlines major organisational restructure to boost economic development

CEO John Baker emphasised the need for faster decision-making to save time and money for all sides: “Or, if we can't, then we should tell them bloody quick and allow the developer to move on and do something else.”

Sunshine Coast Council CEO John Baker has announced a significant organisational shake-up, moving the economic development team into the planning department to create better synergy between the two functions and enhance communication with developers.

“I quite deliberately have moved economic development into planning,” Mr Baker told a Nambour Chamber of Commerce gathering at Nambour Cinema & Events Centre.

“That's not because I think they need to get more into planning. I think it's that planners need to get much more into economic development.”

The restructure aims to create a more responsive approach to development applications, with Baker hoping economic development will influence the planning department to find creative solutions for projects “rather than simply saying no”.

“Maybe it is the wrong zone, but maybe if we just tweak this and we tweak that and we talk to them early and we change this and we enable that, that we can make this (project) happen," Mr Baker said.

The CEO emphasised the need for faster decision-making to save time and money for all sides: “Or, if we can't, then we should tell them bloody quick and allow the developer to move on and do something else.”