We offer a broad range of town planning services to our clients.
Planning Permit Approvals
We complement our professional experience and knowledge with a site visit and a review of the planning framework to provide pre-application advice to our clients which ensures that they pursue their ideal and most suitable planning permit outcome from the outset. We prepare comprehensive reports in support of planning permit applications, and following lodgement, utilise our healthy professional relationships with Council planning staff to ensure a smooth statutory process. We have project experience in all municipalities across the metropolitan area as well as many of the regional Councils.
Planning Permit Objections
We offer assistance to clients who have received notice of planning permit applications in their area who do not have the necessary experience in the planning field to assess whether the proposed development would have an unreasonable impact on their amenity. Where we consider that the proposal does not align with the policy and would have an unreasonable impact upon our clients, we prepare a comprehensive objection on their behalf. We monitor objections throughout the Council assessment process through an ongoing liaison with Council and often the permit applicant directly, and attend consultation meetings on our clients’ behalf when appropriate. Our professional expertise ensures that our clients always and are always afforded the appropriate level of consideration in the decision making process and receive the best possible outcome.
Our staff have extensive experience at the Tribunal, attending hearings on a regular basis on behalf of applicants for review and respondents, both in favour of and in objection to proposed developments. We prepare thorough submissions and statements of expert evidence, and achieve a high success rate at the tribunal.
VCAT Advocacy and Expert Evidence
We assist both the private and public sectors in the rezoning of land.
Planning Scheme Amendments
We apply our knowledge and experience of the planning framework to prepare Feasibility Assessment Reports which provide our clients with a thorough understanding of the opportunities and constraints of a particular site.
Our assessment can include:
An initial review of the sites, its planning control framework and its planning history.
Preliminary discussions with Council regarding the site, and the use and development framework.
Reviewing scope for redevelopment, including options for different built form outcomes.
Preparing a written report on the site as part of a client’s due diligence process.
This service can assist clients in determining the highest and best planning outcome for a site, and can act to minimise risks associated with the planning process.