Stirling speeds up approvals for small business

Small business in the City of Stirling can look forward to faster approvals and fewer hurdles thanks to a new action plan adopted by the City.

Mayor Mark Irwin said that the City had worked with the Small Business Development Corporation to streamline approval processes and cut red tape as part of the Small Business Friendly Approvals Project.

“Small business is big business for the City of Stirling with 22,000 businesses contributing $6 billion annually to Gross Regional Product. It is vital that we make it as easy as possible to start, run and grow a business and that’s why we’re committed to reducing approval times across planning, building and health,” Mayor Irwin said.

“We’re already making inroads by exempting development approval for certain change of use applications in our local centres and activity corridors such as Beaufort Street, with relatively few small businesses needing to apply for approval,” Mayor Irwin said.

“Through reforms and reviewing internal workflows, there is also the potential to reduce timeframes for small businesses applying for development applications by up to 30 days. This is a game-changer for those businesses looking to expand or invest in our City,” Mayor Irwin said.

Small Business Commissioner David Eaton commended the City of Stirling for being one of first local governments to take part in the Small Business Friendly Approvals Project.

“The City of Stirling has been actively advocating to cut red tape and implement reform so it is great that we were able to work with them to streamline approval processes and foster a ‘can-do’ business friendly culture,” David Eaton said.

Mayor Irwin said the City would be immediately implementing changes to reduce the timeframes for approval processes.

“By repositioning our focus to be a facilitator rather than a regulator we’ll increase our efficiencies and enhance the effectiveness of our operations which will flow on to small business.

“I look forward to the benefits the new changes will bring over the next twelve months to bolster our local economy and business environment,” Mayor Irwin said.

To view the City of Stirling’s Small Business Friendly Approvals Project Action Plan visit www.stirling.wa.gov.au/smallbusinessapprovals.