From September 2023 Council meeting: Gas supply in new-builds
At Council’s September 2023 meeting Councillor Moratelli proposed this motion:
“That Council ask the CEO to provide a report to Council by its November meeting as to whether council’s planning powers can be used to stop the connection of gas to new builds, including renovations, and how this might be done”.
The Council Officer’s recommendation for the motion was:
“That a report outlining options for a draft amendment to the Willoughby Development Control Plan 2023 for prohibiting gas connections in new developments be presented to Council for its consideration before the end of the year”.
Background:
A growing number of households are electing not to use gas, as a way of minimising CO2 emissions, and as a way of minimising energy costs. The Victorian Government has elected to ban gas connections in new subdivisions after 1/1/24 (https://www.planning.vic.gov.au/guides-and-resources/strategies-and-initiatives/victorias-gas-substitution-roadmap#:~:text=your%20local%20council.-,Gas%20connections%20in%20new%20residential%20subdivisions,natural%20gas%20on%20that%20lot.) While the NSW Government has not followed Victoria’s lead, several NSW councils including Parramatta, City of Sydney, and Canterbury Bankstown have taken steps to implement restrictions on new gas connections.
A great many new apartments are planned for Chatswood over the next few years, many or all of which may have gas connected. Typically, with a gas connection, the apartment owner might pay a gas supply charge, whether he/she uses gas or not.
After some debate, the motion, on being put, was lost.
For the Motion: Councillors Greco, Moratelli, Roussac and Samuel
Against: Councillors Taylor, Campbell, Eriksson, McCullagh, Mouradian, Rozos, Wright, Xia
and Zhu
You can watch the debate here: https://webcast.willoughby.nsw.gov.au/archive/video23-0925.php#placeholder, item 13.5