In this 10-episode video series, Colin Fragar, our founder and CEO, shares the top ten things to know about achieving council approval.
Click on the “Play” button below to watch Episode 5 now:
Or for those that prefer to read, here is a transcript of the video…
Hi, everybody, Colin Fragar here from Council Approval Group. Today we’re in the studio. We want to push away the clutter and make sure that you don’t get blindsided in dealing with the council.
If you haven’t grabbed this magazine already, please grab a copy of Your Ultimate Guide To Council Approval. So we’ve talked about now, the first four bullet points in there. So go back and have a look at those.
Mistake #5: Going to the Council Before You Get Development Advice
I want to jump straight into number five, which is flying blind in a pre-lodgement meeting with the council. Now what we’re talking about here is for you to go and talk to council without getting the right advice, because what you can do is actually paint the wrong picture with the council.For example, let’s say you haven’t talked to us first and you’ve just gone straight over to talk to somebody at Council about achieving council approval. And what usually happens at the council is that they have somebody called the duty planner that talks to you about your project.
Now there’s an old phrase which is: A council planner will tell you what you can’t do, but a consultant planner will tell you what you can do.And so their job is not necessarily to work out what’s the best project for you. Their job is not to be committal. Subconsciously, they may even be thinking, ‘If I say you can do this, it’s gonna be extra work for me. I’m going to have to assess it next month and I’m better off to put the pressure on.’
Get Your Advice for Achieving Council Approval
So the important thing to do is before you talk to Council, make sure you book in to speak to one of our consultants. You can get a Preliminary Planning Assessment on your project. That way you can know exactly what you can do with the Council, what you can’t do, and you’ll be able to have more strength in that sort of a discussion with Council.My name is Colin Fragar. Thanks for watching.