Question 1

What does a Town Planner do?

Accepted Answer

Town Planners work with Architects // Developers // Owners to advise on the development opportunities and constraints of a particular site, and prepare documentation in support of applications to Council. 
 
Christopher // Lloyd Consultant Planners help take the guesswork out of planning by managing the development application process, and will liaise with Council and relevant stakeholders to ensure your project has the smoothest pathway to approval.

Question 2

Does our project need a Town Planner?

Accepted Answer

This depends on a few factors, being the type of development you are seeking to undertake, the known constraints to the site (fire, flood, access), and how much time you have to manage the process. 
 
Straightforward sites with few issues are getting rarer to find, but they are about, and with a savvy Architect // Developer // Owner a simple development should be fairly manageable with little input from a Town Planner. 
 
Christopher // Lloyd Consultant Planners are happy to have a chat about your project and provide advice regarding the usefulness of utilising our services. Not all projects need our advice, but all projects should be reviewed by a qualified planning consultant to get to that conclusion.

Question 3

Can development standards be varied?

Accepted Answer

Yes*
 
Clause 4.6 – Exceptions to Development Standards enables exceptions to numerical Development Standards within all Standard Instrument Local Environmental Plans. A written request seeking to justify a variation of a Development Standard can be made to a consent authority under Clause 4.6. Numerical standards are things such as Height of Buildings, or Floor Space ratio.
 
Requests must be in writing, and must justify the departure from the standards in accordance with the NSW Land and Environment Court established “five part test”.
 
Departures from controls under 10% can be determined by Council staff, where as departures from controls over 10% are required to be determined by Council or a Planning Panel, should one be in place. Both can be facilitated by our team if ample planning grounds can justify the "five part test".
 
* Christopher // Lloyd Consultant Planners can advise on the likelihood of any particular variance being approved by the consent authority, but can’t guarantee the consent authority will approve the variance sought.

Question 4

What can be built on a particular block of land?

Accepted Answer

Planning controls will dictate what is a permissible development type for any given parcel of land.
 
At a Local Governemnt level a Councils LEP will have land use tables that specify permissible and prohibited development. Most development is easily categorised and is fairly straightforward to align with a permissible or prohibited use, however there is some planning grey area for certain development types that can be explored.
 
At a State level the State Environmental Planning Policy will hold controls on permissible development.
 
Christopher // Lloyd Consultant Planners can review the available development opportunities for your site and recommend pathways to approval.

Question 5

Can our project be built as exempt or complying development?

Accepted Answer

Christopher // Lloyd Consultant Planners can review your proposed works and provide advice detailing the appropriate approvals pathway for your project.
 
In some cases where a development may be borderline, a Complying Development Report can be provided that will satisfy the Principal Certifying Authority that the works meet the criteria to be considered under State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What does a Town Planner do?

Does our project need a Town Planner?

Can development standards be varied?

What can be built on a particular block of land?

Can our project be built as exempt or complying development?