Town Planning for Businesses

We often hear from our business clients that they didn’t know Town Planners existed until they spoke to Council about their business. Chances are that you found us because you spoke to Council and they advised you to contact a private town planner. 

We help businesses gain approval and take the pressure off them for the approval process so that they can focus on their business. We help businesses change their hours of operation, install mechanical exhaust systems, renovate their existing business or start a new business. The most common type of development application we do is for the change of use of a premises to the new business use.

Change of Use

One of the most common enquiries we receive from new clients is in regards to a change of use development application. We receive enquiries from people wanting to start new cafes or restaurants, tattoo studios, gyms, wellness centres, wine bars, car dealerships and even Universities.

Change of use applications can sometimes be difficult due to the zoning of the site and it is always best to do your research on the zoning before committing to a lease to ensure you can operate your business.

Some change of use applications can also be approved under a complying development certificate and an approval can be granted in as little as 10 days.

How Long does a development application take?

We always tell our clients that development application can take up to 12 weeks depending on the Council area, the complexity of the application and the officer assessing the application. Our job, however, is to ensure that all the details are correct and any non compliances are addressed in the statement of environmental effects when we lodge the application to minimise any delays in the assessment. We also follow up regularly with the Council Town Planner to check the progress and offer any assistance we can.