The Victorian State Government has been talking about making planning easier and the first part of achieving this goal is the introduction of an amendment to all residential zones to delete the option for councils to require planning permits for single dwellings on sites with areas of 300 to 500 square metres.

This requirement has commonly been applied to new single dwellings or dwelling extensions in Neighbourhood Residential Zones, due to Councils seeking to have increased control over built form in these more conservative residential areas.

This Amendment intends to ease the load of council planning departments and make it easier for people to avoid the planning process when they are building single dwellings or extensions.

Whilst this is a positive, we have noticed that obtaining Council approval for additions on these smaller sites with any overlays (for example a Heritage Overlay) is now likely to become more complex. These projects may now not only go through what can be a lengthy and frustrating planning process, they could also require separate approval through the Council Building Dispensation process for siting, which would have previously been covered in the planning process by a ResCode assessment. This is an unfortunate byproduct of what is mostly a positive step to streamline planning for those who want to build or extend their forever home.

If you are looking to build or extend your home on a smaller lot, give us a call and we would be pleased to advise you on how best to take benefit from these changes. We specialise in both planning and building dispensation approvals.