Our local government planning background
Working for Councils is a major part of what we do. It's where many of our team members gained formative experiences and so have a special attachment and understanding of planning and development projects in a local government context. We understand the unique challenges of local government, especially in rural and regional Queensland.
Full range of town planning services
Our involvement with Councils can range from providing a full range of town planning services as if we are ‘the planning department’ to more targeted projects such as strategic property advice, land use strategies, or place-making audits. Councils who use our expertise avoid potential risks such as cost over-runs, delays, or poor quality. This makes for good governance.
Engaging a whole planning department on an 'as needs' basis means that we bring a wide range of skills that no single professional could match. Employing a sole professional, especially in rural and regional areas, means limited opportunities for mentoring or challenges from peers. The result is often professional isolation and inefficiency.
Development assessment
We provide development assessment services managing development applications through the entire assessment process. We have established systems to help manage development assessment from prior to lodgement to post-approval, or we can simply assist with providing advice in one part of the project, such as assessing an application and preparing a report. We have also provided qualified and experienced staff to work in-house. We have worked with many Councils.
Lodging development applications for Councils
Councils occasionally need to obtain development permits, either for projects that are assessable under the planning scheme or where the assessment manager is other than the local government. We regularly prepare, lodge and manage development applications on behalf of Councils. More importantly, we help Councils develop responsible solutions that make the most of a site's attributes. As experienced private development sector practitioners, we are in good position to help Councils achieve balanced outcomes.
Plan-making
InsiteSJC team members have considerable experience in preparing planning schemes under the IPA and SPA and amendments under the Planning Act 2016. After more than a dozen new schemes we know how to manage the issues, the potential traps and how to avoid them.
Local Buy
Our inclusion on the Local Buy panel of providers makes it easy for Councils to engage us directly without delays through a tender process. We guarantee our fees to be competitive in the marketplace.
Control your budget with fixed fees
We usually work on a fixed-fee basis...we provide a quote for a defined project. That way there is no surprise when you receive our invoice and the pressure is on us to deliver efficiently. We do this even for development assessment services since, after managing the assessment of more than a thousand applications, we know what it takes to complete the assessment of a wide range of rural and urban development proposals.
Another advantage of operating on fixed fee arrangements is that there is a Council-defined 'lid' to the extent of work required for assessment. This means that there is much less likelihood of a 'bureaucracy blowout', something that is increasingly important for economic development reasons to a growing number of Councils.
Find out how we can help you
We have the right expertise to suit your town planning needs. Contact us now to find out how we can help you. If you’re not ready to engage us, then sign up to the right for a free e-copy of Changing Planning Paradigms in Local Government.