10Oct 2024 by admin

New Apartment Buildings

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The Planning and Design Code when introduced in 2021 changed the Planning System irrevocably. A major change has been the construction of apartment buildings within the Adelaide CBD and out along main transport corridors such as Prospect Road, Port Road and Unley Road, to name a few. There are a lot more apartment buildings within the CBD in the Capital City Zone (CCZ) where height limits have been greatly increased. There have also been new apartments constructed in North Adelaide and others are presently being constructed on OConnell Street which are not in the CCZ. Similar to North Adelaide the apartments being constructed along major transport routes are not as high as in the CBD because lower height limits apply. Also, other design criteria such as overlooking and overshadowing of…
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10Jul 2024 by admin

Some observations regarding steeply sloping sites

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Often steeply sloping sites can have aesthetic appeal being located on lofty sites with panoramic views. However there are often drawbacks with such sites some fairly obvious but others less so. Obvious draw backs are design construction issues like: Split level designs Extensive internal staircases Extensive retaining walls. Additional footings/ piers to ensure soil stability and no slippage Additional engineering and construction costs Drainage complications Access difficulties to steep sites for equipment and storage Cantilevered structures These issues are all fairly obvious when compared to relatively flat sites and the additional costs can be substantial. What is often less immediately apparent are  planning issues and neighbour concerns. Split levels and cantilevered designs can mean that the upper levels can be higher than neighbouring properties and create concern regarded scale and…
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12Feb 2024 by admin

Child Care Centres

Advantage Planning.
There are still small kindergartens and child care centres dispersed throughout the Adelaide metropolitan area often in refurbished former houses. But in more recent years large often two storey child care centres ‘Early Learning Centres’ are being purpose built usually in or on the fringe of residential zones. These relatively large two storey child care centres can accommodate more than  100 children from babies to preschoolers and are open from 6.30 am to 6.30 pm. The centres are much larger than the surrounding residential buildings, they operate for different trading hours than the 7am-9pm that is usually considered maximum hours for small commercial uses such as shops, offices or consulting rooms. In residential zones the size of commercial land uses is very restricted in floor area and scale. But these…
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17Oct 2023 by admin

Site Contamination and the EPA

Advantage Planning.
Soil contamination issues have complicate a number of development applications I have been involved with over the years. In most instances they have been former service stations and /or fuel depots. Therefore contamination of the surrounding soil and/or ground water has mostly occurred from the leaking of fuel tanks when in use or because they have been left in the ground without being properly decommissioned. In other instances there has been suspected contamination by a former land use, but mostly these have not proved to be significant because the land use proposed is not considered a more sensitive land use than the previous land use. This has been established after extensive discussions with the Council Planner and reference to the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016. The land use Sensitivity…
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17Jul 2023 by admin

Uniformity in Planning

Advantage Planning.
A positive benefit of traveling is recognizing what is good in other urban environments as well as our own. In the Greek Islands an impressive aesthetic is created by the all white square and rectangular buildings with flat roofs. Similarly in Paris, France the older parts of the city are characterised by 5-6 storey building that permit good light penetration and ventilation at street level. The same can be said for the impressive boulevards lined with pleached trees and orderly buildings. Adelaide may not be as exotic as these locations but in the inner suburbs where the original bluestone and sandstone villas have been retained the streetscapes have a pleasing urban form and rhythm. The present Planning and Design code for South Australia requires town planners to encourage uniformity and order. Generally houses are required to be setback’s…
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24Jan 2023 by admin

WHY ENGAGE A TOWN PLANNING CONSULTANT

Advantage Planning.
People can be reluctant to engage a Town Planning Consultant whether they think they can represent themselves or possibly think engaging a consultant will be too expensive. In my 40 years working as a Town Planner both in Local Government, State Government and as a private planning consultant I would have to say these opinions could be rather short sighted. In many instances like non-complying land uses under the former Development Act or now restricted development with the new Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act it is really mandatory to have representation of a qualified Planner. A Town Planner has the experience and ability to represent the client properly and develop a cognisant argument why non-complying or restricted development should be allowed when it is specifically stipulated that what is proposed…
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10Nov 2022 by admin

Home Activity

Advantage Planning.
The Development Regulations 2008 and superseding Planning, Development and Infrastructure (General) Regulations 2017 define a Home Activity with reference to the current Regulations: Home activity means a use of a site by a person resident on the site - (a) that does not detrimentally affect the amenity of the locality or any part of the locality; and (b) that does not require or involve any of the following: (i) assistance by more than 1 person who is not a resident in the dwelling; (ii) use (whether temporary or permanent) of a floor area exceeding 30 square metres (iii) the imposition on the services provided by a public utility organisation of any demand or load greater than which is ordinarily imposed by other uses of the services in the locality (iv)…
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03Jun 2022 by admin

Some observations about energy efficient Building Design in South Australia

Advantage Planning.
There could be more in the Planning and Design Code that specifically encourages energy efficient building design. The current trend for extensions, ensuites and new roofs to be clad in black colorbond or steel sheeting is architecturally fashionable but from an environmental point of view is less desirable. The colour black absorbs heat more readily than lighter colours, white or natural silver (zincalume or galvanised steel) actually reflects light and absorbs less heat. Noticeably in more recent times eaves on houses and buildings are making a come back. Villas and bunglows from the late 1800s into the 1930s had extensive eaves and verandahs practical additions to houses in our hot Australian climate.  In the 1940 -1980s the prominence of eaves declined substantially and verandahs often became little more than small…
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18Jan 2022 by admin

The year 2021

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COVID has disrupted many things in our lives over the last couple of years like where we work, education systems, how we interact and what we can and cannot do. To further complicate things a new Planning system was introduced in South Australia in March 2021. This has also changed how development applications are lodged and who they are lodged with. The Planning Legislation has also changed and the Planning and Design Code introduced so notification and referral processes are now different. A lot more proposals can now be privately assessed by private consultants or delegated individuals. Significant DAs assessed and approved under the new Planning System by Advantage Planning Services in 2021 Doggy Day Care Park approved in the Adelaide Hills and another one within a warehouse in Bowden.…
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09Aug 2021 by admin
Planning and Design Code Heritage Area Overlays

Planning and Design Code Heritage Area Overlays

Advantage Planning.
State and Local Heritage Places are still individually identified as was the case with the previous Development Act 1993 and respective Council Development Plans. The main difference with the new Planning and Design Code is the creation of Historic Area Overlays. No longer are individual Contributory and/or Non-Contributory items identified within the Historic Area Overlays.  There is now only reference to Representative Buildings that display attributes of a Historic Area as listed in the respective Historic Area Statement. This includes reference to matters such as architectural style, detailing, built form features, and building height. The respective Historic Area Statement nor Heritage Area Overlay makes specific mention of representative buildings nor buildings that contribute or detract (non-contributory) to the area streetscape mislead, there are general statements as follows: Buildings and structures,…
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