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An independent planning assessor has been appointed to oversee the proposed Bass and Flinders Gateway complex on the former Quattro site in Wollongong's CBD.
In November last year, Wollongong City Council chose to defer to the Joint Regional Planning Panel (JRPP) amid fears the development of the site, which is mostly owned by council, could be seen as a conflict of interest.
On Wednesday, the NSW Planning and Infrastructure Department confirmed the Southern JRPP had been appointed as the assessing authority of the 14,681 square metre site bound by Flinders, Keira and Campbell streets.
Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery welcomed the decision.
"We have a bit of a conflict in that we're the landowner as well as the consent authority," Cr Bradbery said. "The point of the exercise is to make sure those are separated."
Previous development approval granted for the site was overturned in court following the 2008 Independent Commission Against Corruption investigation into allegations affecting Wollongong City Council.
One Wollongong councillor, George Takacs, also sits on the JRPP, however Cr Bradbery said he did not see that as a conflict of interest.
"It's a gateway development and something we can be extremely proud of," Cr Bradbery said.