When starting a new practice or moving into new premises it is important to take into account local council requirements (not to mention, how long these applications take). The process is different in each state and each council individually interpret the guidelines and also have their own priorities and areas they target.
I thought I would take this opportunity to select a number of our latest projects and highlight each of their experiences with local councils. As I started writing, I realized how complex this topic is, so have decided to break it down into a posst per project.
Case 1. New dental practice opening in an existing house (WA)
Council involvement: Change of use from residential to medical consulting rooms
Drawings provided: Site plan, demolition plan, floor plan (by Ego Squared) Contour survey, parking and landscaping plans (using external consultants)
Approval length: two months (including three weeks advertising)
Main issues: parking
Description: Council initially requested six parking bays including one disabled bay (three bays per practitioner). Our client requested a total of eight bays as we had plenty of room at the rear of the property. After submission, council requested the majority of parking to be at the front of the house. As this was not possible, council allowed us to cross over the front boundary slightly giving us three bays out the front (including one disabled bay) and five out the back. As we got closer to achieving the approval, council suddenly requested an extra two bays (five bays per room) – lucky we had plenty of room!
I would love to hear your experiences – feel free to leave a comment!
Posted in Local council experiences. Permalink for this post: permalink.
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