town planner and architect

Hi all

Hope everyone is well.

I have previously worked with an architect who did the townplanning as well.

I am looking to more in a different direction and wish to use a new architect, which will mean that I will have to use a new town planner.

Can someone explain to me how this works - do architects know generally what will be permitted on a site and do draft drawings which are then checked by the town planner, or do you prepare a brief for an architect which has a complete town planning report or is there some other way it usually works?

I am only looking at a small job - retaining a house and building two townhouses out the back - it will largely be generally in accordance with the code.

Any comments welcome.

Thanks

Ben
 
Hey Ben

I've previously worked as a town planner in a town planning only consultancy and currently work in a combined building design/town planning consultancy in Brisbane. There are a few benefits in using a company that do both the design and approval, but in reality all good architects/building designers should have a detailed understanding of the relevant town planning requirements. If you are looking to engage a town planner and architect separately, it is useful to involve the town planner in your preliminary discussions with the architect, particularly if you are looking to push the boundaries with your town planning application (i.e height, site cover, setbacks etc). That way, the town planner can advise on the likelihood of Council supporting any areas of non-compliance and there should be no major design changes required between the architect preparing the plans and the town planner reviewing them/lodging them with Council. The town planner may also be able to make suggestions that the architect may not be familiar with. For instance, due to the way that City Plan 2014 has been structured, you might find that you are better off obtaining approval for the existing house/townhouses at the back (formerly called Single Unit Dwellings) as 3 x small lot houses (on freehold title), rather than a multiple dwelling (3 townhouses on body corporate). For one, they will be on freehold title and they will also require less setbacks/less car parking.

Hope this helps

Cheers
Liam
 
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