In recent months the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) have introduced some new processes. Two that are of particular interest are the change in the Notice of Decision process and an increased likelihood that Councils will have to reimburse applicants fees for failure hearings. New Process...
What many restaurants, cafes and other eateries that want to serve alcohol on their premises don’t know is that obtaining a liquor licence is a two-step process. First, they need to get a planning permit from the Council before applying for a liquor licence from...
At Change of Plan, I've had a lot of people ask me why they run into trouble when they put in a planning application to build an extra unit or house on a block of land that has a separately approved garage/carport in the frontage. Recently,...
On the 31st of July the State Government introduced changes to the bushfire planning regulations to give greater certainty to landowners in bushfire prone areas. The key changes include: Greater certainty to build, extend or replace a dwelling in land that has a residentially focused zoning...
One issue discussed in the Panel report was the appropriateness of the proposed zones in some areas. The basis of many of the submissions, and therefore of consideration to the Panel was whether the proposed restrictive Neighbourhood Residential Zone was appropriate. The Panel consider that the use of this zone had not been justified sufficiently and that the criteria used to make decisions on the zone have not been appropriate in all instances. In particular they were not supportive of using this zone simply because of single dwelling covenants or stormwater management issues in the area.
I went to a networking event recently and one of the topics that was discussed was around imitation in a business sense, whether it is of a new idea or product that we have created. There are many ways that the development industry can be impacted...
How long? There is now less than 6 months until the new residential zones will replace the existing zones. The new zones could potentially reduce the allowable height and number of dwellings permissible on a lot, which may affect projects that you have in the pipeline. ...
This is a handy guide to understanding the sometimes lengthy process to getting town planning approval for your project. We believe the key to a successful and speedy outcome is in the planning or Pre-Application phase. While we can’t change the regulated steps an application...
So, you live in Melbourne and have seen an advertisement on a neighbouring property about a proposed development - what next? The Development First, you need to see the plans. You may have to go to the council office or you may be able to view something...
While doing some research for a project recently I found this really useful website called Housing In Victoria. It has been set up to provide data on housing and housing affordability indicators. It is an interactive website with a number of different indicators and data...