Big Picture Urban Rural - Consultant Town Planners - Queen Street, Melbourne CBD
Taking the pain out of planning
We provide effective professional advice, documentation,
representation
and support in relation to
all
Victorian
urban and rural planning permit applications
for
developers, residents, businesses, councils and other authorities
Please contact us for a free discussion of your planning permit needs
The rural planning experts
Matt Gorman, Consultant Town Planner of Big Picture Urban Rural specialises in rural planning.
Background
Over 90% of land in Victoria can properly be classified as fully or
partly "rural", including some councils (eg at the fringes of
Melbourne) that also cover urban areas.
Rural planning issues are often more complicated than urban ones due
to:
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Limited infrastructure. For example: whereas in an
urban residential area, a "developer" would deal with the provision
of road access, services etc as well as proving a suitable
development site; in a rural setting, it is generally the landowner
that has to do this, in often much more constrained circumstances,
including dry weather roads only, no reticulated (mains) sewerage,
no town water, difficult topography, extensive vegetation coverage
etc.
- Environmental issues (eg native vegetation, significant landscapes, water catchments, flooding, bushfire etc) are likely to be more important in rural area than in urban ones.
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Economic issues (protection and promotion of
agriculture, economic development) are also more likely to arise,
particularly in shires that are actively seeking new investment.
- Residential development and subdivision being more difficult in rural area from a zoning/policy perspective.
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People having different expectations for what is
appropriate in their rural area, particularly in “tree change”
areas. The best example is where a shooting range wants to locate
next to an animal refuge. Or when someone's dwelling will block
someone else's view. Or where a landowner is worried about dogs from
the adjoining kennels escaping into their sheep paddocks or the
local conservation reserve.
As a result there is also a greater diversity of zones, overlays,
state policies and local policies in rural planning scheme. Often
these controls and policies are very restrictive, or at the very
least require a greater level of documentation and/or justification
for new land use and development proposals than would be the case in
urban areas.
Call or email Matt Gorman
today (for contact details, click
here) to discuss your rural planning needs.
The following zones and overlays are mainly only found in rural
areas, with each listed under its planning scheme clause number
(some are also found in urban areas):
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35.03 Rural Living Zone
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35.07 Farming Zone
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- 42.01 Environmental Significance Overlay
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42.02 Vegetation Protection Overlay
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44.06 Bushfire Management Overlay
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The following zones and overlays, while also found in more urbanised areas, are sometimes found in or around townships and small towns (other zones and overlays may also apply:
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33.01 Industrial 1 Zone
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34.01 Business 1 Zone
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32.01 Residential 1 Zone
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32.03 Low Density Residential Zone
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32.05 Township Zone
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36.04 Road Zone
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43.01 Heritage Overlay
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43.02 Design and Development Overlay
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45.01 Public Acquisition Overlay.
The following particular and general provisions of the planning
scheme also mainly or often apply to rural areas and in or around
township and smaller towns:
- 52.08 Earth and energy resources and industry
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52.09 Extractive industry and extractive industry
interest areas
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52.15 Heliport
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52.16 Native vegetation precinct plan
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52.17 Native vegetation
- 52.18 Timber production
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52.26 Cattle feedlot
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52.30 Freeway service centre
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52.31 Broiler farm
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52.32 Wind energy facility
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52.37 Post boxes and dry stone walls
- 52.42 Renewable energy facility (other than wind energy facility)
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52.43 Interim measures for bushfire protection
- 52.47 Bushfire protection: planning requirements
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52.48 Bushfire protection: Exemptions
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As with all other professions, most “town” planners in Victoria live
and work in Melbourne, and it is fair to say have no experience of,
and know little about town planning outside the metropolitan area.
Even some that do deal with rural planning have never actually
worked for a rural council.
While there are some planners living and working in country
Victoria, most of them work directly for local government and/or
have limited experience, and there are few
consultants outside the
three main provincial cities (and even there, there is only a small
number).
Matt Gorman was fortunate to start his career in country Victoria
(in Benalla, in the former Shire of Delatite) and despite now living
to Melbourne has continued to do work both in and for a number of
rural councils as a consultant since 2003 and before that as a
contractor.
In addition to his earlier experience at Delatite, followed by
contract experience at South Gippsland and Greater Geelong councils,
after starting BPUR, Matt has provided extensive statutory planning
services (directly) to the following rural or semi-rural councils:
Macedon Ranges; Glenelg; Campaspe; Nillumbik; Hepburn; Mount
Alexander (current client); Casey (current client); and Melton
(current client). BPUR has also provided advice, documentation and
representation for a number of private (ie landowner) clients in a
diverse range of shires.
Call or email Matt Gorman
today (for contact details, click
here) to discuss your rural planning needs.
In terms of the rural planning issues that BPUR has extensive
experience in dealing with:
- Rural residential use and associated development (including dwellings, sheds, dependent persons units etc) including subdivision in rural areas and smaller towns.
- Multi-dwelling development and subdivision in smaller towns, townships, and settlements.
- Commercial use and development such as for wineries, hotels, restaurants and other licensed premises, tourism and uses in rural areas or small towns.
- Animal keeping, including the keeping, breeding and/or boarding of dogs.
- Intensive animal husbandry.
- Extractive industry (quarries).
- Development in the proclaimed catchments (often covered by the Environmental Significance Overlay) and/or along the coast.
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Native vegetation removal/protection.
Specific services for rural clients
BPUR provides a wide range of services to its rural clients, which
are tailored towards each client’s individual circumstances. This
includes providing:
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Verbal or written advice about whether certain types
of use and development are permissible and/or feasible in the Rural
(or other) Zones and about the proper application of Clause 64.03
Subdivision of land in more than one zone.
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- Written statements for the use of a lot for a dwelling under Clause 35.07 Farming Zone/35.07-5 Application requirements for dwellings.
- Locality and Site Descriptions and a Bushfire Management Statements pursuant to Clause 44.06 Bushfire Management Overlay/44.06-2 Application requirements and Clause 52.47 Bushfire Protection: Planning Requirements.
- Written explanations of the steps that have been taken to: Avoid the removal of native vegetation, where possible; Minimise the removal of native vegetation; and Appropriately offset the loss of native vegetation, if required, pursuant to Clause 52.17 Native Vegetation /52.17-3 Application requirements.
- Project management of client responses to Council requests for further/more information, including providing key written responses.
- Written objections to applications for planning permits (and associated verbal or written advice).
- Written submissions to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal regarding appeals involving planning permits.
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Written submissions to Councils, state government or
Planning Panels Victoria regarding rezoning and other changes to the
planning scheme.
- Reports for Councils on all statutory planning matters, especilally permit applications
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Call or email Matt Gorman
today (for contact details, click
here) to discuss your rural planning needs.