A bill designed to make the Planning Department more user friendly breezed through the House of Assembly on Wednesday.

There were no objections to the Development and Planning (Amendment) Act 1996 during its second and third readings in the House of Assembly.

The bill -- which amends the Development and Planning Act 1974 -- will be read in the Senate next. It is due to come into operation on April 1.

Environment Minister Pamela Gordon said the bill contained changes to the parts of the old Act dealing with subdivision control which were outdated and needed to be made more current.

The amendments clarify the law relating to applications for planning permission to subdivide land, the grant of planning permission and the registration of such grants.

They establish one method of obtaining planning permission for subdivision while incorporating the ability to attach conditions to the final permission grant, Ms Gordon said.

These conditions can now be enforced by the Environment Minister.

Subdivision plans will be registered automatically under the amendments and new plans will supersede previous plans so certainty is introduced to the process.

And plans registered in the late 1970s and early 1980s which are not in accordance with the legislation will be regularised and there will be no further need to apply for permission to develop new roads and accesses when engineering details are submitted, she said.

The amendments clarify the ability to subdivide property containing buildings and regularise condominium leases.

They also provide a procedure for people with more than one registered plan of subdivision on a parcel of land so they can choose which plan is to be valid.

The reason why this route was taken, continued Ms Gordon, was because she was determined to make the planning division of the Ministry "more user-friendly'' by reducing confusion over the planning process.

It would also help reduce the cost of that process, she added.

The department had done extensive consultation with other parties involved in the process. While there was not 100 percent satisfaction across the board, she admitted, there was a consensus.

Her counterpart, Shadow Environment Minister Leon (Jimmy) Williams said he welcomed the amendments to the Act which made it more user-friendly.

And Government backbencher Leonard Gibbons (UBP) commended Ms Gordon for bringing the "long overdue'' amendments to the House.

He said he was encouraged by the Planning Department's move to be more user friendly by simplifying its processes as it had been "much maligned'' in the past.

Mr. Gibbons added that it was also good Ms Gordon had consulted with her customers -- the public -- before bringing the Bill to the House.

Customer satisfaction was key to the whole community who had goods and services to sell.

Shadow Works Minister Stanley Morton said he was glad Ms Gordon was trying to assist the community.