You were saying that Council seemed "very uncooperative"
I wonder if many people realise that many town planners are reluctant to help potential applicants unless these applicants have got independent advice in the first instance.
Most planners I have worked with over the years consider that they are not being paid to be the applicant's consultant and actually do the planning for them, they consider that they act for Council only and that an applicant must come up with a scheme which can then be commented on. This attitude seems to be part of "planning culture" from what I can see.
There is a second side to this attitude. Planners are reluctant to suggest things or have "design input" often because it can come back on the planner at the end of the assessment and the applicant can say that the plannner "made them do it like that" and when things go wrong, the planner can wind up knee deep in it.
I haven't had this problem and have often been helpful in the upfront design phase (a fact I generally keep from my bosses due to this old predjudice). I guess that I have been careful and lucky in that this has never backfired in me so far (touch wood).
So, always get you scheme up and running design-wise first by using the planing controls to work out what is possible. Then you are in a position to go to Council with your scheme and get proper advice. Most Councils would have semi-formal design review panels where you can take your draft sketches to get critiqued and get written advice showing you how to proceed. Definitely take advantage of this type of thing if it's avaiable.
Planning consent is always one of the most critical bottlenecks in the development process, it's VERY important to know how to play the game.
Good Luck