Savings provisions are commonly found in environmental planning instruments such as Local Environmental Plans (LEP) and State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPP). Usually, their intended effect are to carve out certain types of development applications, usually by reference to the lodgement date, from being determined according to the environmental planning instrument containing the savings provision. Whilst this sounds straightforward at first, it is not always easy to discern when and how savings provisions should apply to a development application. Both councils and developers must carefully interpret savings provisions, as incorrect application of planning instruments could lead to errors in the preparation and assessment of development applications. Today, we look at three common problems in the interpretation of savings provision and how the Courts have addressed them. [...]
