town planning process Tag

Before you automatically book that pre-application meeting, ask yourself: Should You Have A Pre-Application Meeting With Council? Clients often come to us wanting to get pre-application advice from the Council before they lodge their application. My advice surprises many clients, as I will often recommend...

"How long will the planning permit process take?" This is one of the first questions people ask me, and one of the most difficult to answer. The short answer is quite a long time, and longer than many people realise! The reason why it is a difficult question...

A question I hear often is "What is town planning?" The way that I explain it is that town planning is where the Local Council looks at what you want to do and decides if it is the right use or development for the area. Town planning...

Don't be caught out by a covenant over your land title.  A planning permit can't be approved if it is contrary to a restrictive covenant on the title.  If there is a covenant it will need to varied or removed before the proposal can be...

I often get asked about planning scheme amendments, how the process works and what the implications are for current projects. The typical process for a significant planning scheme amendment is described below. While the process for Council driven amendments and private amendments (those facilitated by private...

There have been a number of changes to the Bushfire Management Overlay and Clause 52.47 (Planning For Bushfire), particularly in relation to applications in established urban areas.  Recently I had an application in Seaford (Frankston City Council) that allowed me to experience what the recent...

I have just received the planning permit for a two unit development in Vera Street, Bentleigh East.  This was a collaboration with Enlight Building Design. [caption id="attachment_35786" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Townhouse impression of the recent successful town planning approval in Vera Street, Glen Eira. Image courtesy of...

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...

VicSmart is a new permit process for straightforward and simple town planning applications. This new initiative from the Victorian Department of Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure aims to create a fast and streamlined process for a range of uncomplicated town planning applications. It will be...