Townsville City Council’s Director of Town Planning resigns – has he got a (Rocky) Spring(s) in this step ?

It was only this week that someone mentioned to me that they had not seen Angelo Licciardello on the news lately – he been very quiet. In fact the last I remember hearing of him was the trumpeting of the inner city development and the urge for State Government to relocate key government departments in teh city centre to stimulate the area.

Angelo worked for the Townsville City Council before leaving for Delfin Lend Lease and being based at Douglas (Riverside Gardens). Once that projected wound up he moved back to a Senior Role with the Council.

With rumours oif the Rocky Springs Development imminent, the move seems timely.

The Rocky Springs Project, a proposed satellite city, will be located 15 km south east of the city centre, will occupy 1594 hectares and cater for 15,000 to 18,000 dwellings housing up to 38,000 people.

The Townsville Bulletin today published this (story and link follow) :

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2011/06/18/240671_news.html

Planning Boss Gone

TOWNSVILLE City Council’s director of planning and development, Angelo Licciardello, has resigned after almost three years in the top town planning job.

The council’s CEO Ray Burton is understood to have informed staff of the resignation yesterday.

A council spokesman could not be contacted last night to comment on the resignation which comes as the council is still working on a new town plan to replace the town plans of the former Townsville and Thuringowa councils, which were amalgamated in 2008.

It is understood Mr Licciardello will serve out a three-month notice period before moving on to a new role with a local development company.

Mr Licciardello was appointed to the position – a role understood to command a salary of up to $290,000 – in October 2008.

In June of that year, he had been appointed chairman of the council’s CBD Taskforce, however, in the previous Labor-controlled Townsville council he also served as director of planning from 1995 to 2001 before taking a role in the private sector.

In his most recent stint, Mr Licciardello was director of planning and development at a difficult time with the council championing contentious new infrastructure charges on development.

Developers labelled the charges ridiculous and unviable.

After State Government reforms, announced in May this year, the charges are to be reduced State-wide from July in an effort to stimulate construction activity.

Mr Licciardello was known to be forthright in his advocacy for following the city’s planning scheme – a trait which sometimes did not sit well with councillors.

He also won few friends in the development sector after telling a meeting of the urban development institute in 2009 that the previous council approach to accommodate development would be replaced by adherence to processes and procedures.

However he also appears to have attracted little support from the council’s executive structure.

Of the 18 executive managers across the council structure as at January this year, just two were in planning and development compared with six in corporate services, five in community and environment and four in infrastructure services.

Only the commercial businesses department has fewer executive managers, having one executive manager.
If Angelo’s move to Delfin Lend LEase is confirmed  – and thus Rocky Spring’s start

Graham