■ 1 Lombardy Drive,
Mernda
A modern day neighbourhood strip shop development consisting of eleven tenancies, a childcare centre and fifty four car parks.
CHALLENGE
The developer of this centre wanted flexibility for the defined uses within the development so it could appeal to a wide variety of business’. This created a challenge for determining a suitable number of car parks to include.
SOLUTION
Lengthy negotiations with council were required to approve the development without nominating uses for each tenancy. A successful outcome meant the negotiated car parking supply was provided on site without our client compromising the number or size of the units.
“A genuine desire to listen and help get the best possible outcome for us is what we received from the team at CS. We look forward to working together again.”
S. BLEWETT
■ 194 Albert Street, Brisbane
This retail fit out on behalf of global leisurewear retailer Lululemon on a Brisbane High street that required a heritage exemption approval and a licence to display business signs.
CHALLENGE
Although no DA is required in this location for the retailer to establish, our team had to obtain a specific heritage exemption from Brisbane city council to display the clients preferred business signs.
SOLUTION
We were able to advocate and negotiate a successful outcome for our client that allowed their preferred branding to be erected on the building. This was exceptionally important to ensure they maintained national consistency across their stores.
“We found the CS team to be highly diligent and provided a fast and comprehensive service. We would happily recommend this agency for your town planning and council requirements.”
ADAM WEEKS
■ 86-88 Collins Street, Melbourne
This retail fit out on behalf of luxury watch retailer Vacheron Constantin within a pristine heritage listed building required planning approval in an area where heritage conservation controls are exceptionally rigid. On account of our demonstrated experience in the area CS were selected to guide the architect team through the required approvals.
CHALLENGE
The starting point for the project required the completion of exceptionally detailed architect’s drawings of the existing features of the building. These drawings had to exactly match the as built conditions of the building before any discussions on what modifications could be made were held. This was a collaborative effort between the client, the architect and our team to gather photographs and historic plans of the building to accurately draw up and document the existing conditions. On completion of this we turned our attention to identify the heritage features that were important to be retained and those modern elements that could be removed.
SOLUTION
We quickly identified that the external balustrades and embellishments within the building frontage were significant and had to be retained along with the pillars across the façade. The glazing along the frontage was identified as non-significant to the heritage fabric and correctly classed as a modern addition that could be removed or modified. With the guidance of the CS team the client was able to present an acceptable demolition plan to Council as part of the planning application that was approved by councils heritage advisor with no amendments required.
“We found the CS team to be highly diligent and provided a fast and comprehensive service. We would happily recommend this agency for your town planning and council requirements.”
ADAM WEEKS
■ 1089 High Street, Armadale
This retail fit out on behalf of global leisurewear retailer Lululemon within a pristine heritage listed building required planning approval in an area where heritage conservation controls are exceptionally rigid. On account of our demonstrated experience in the area CS were selected to guide the architect team through the required approvals.
CHALLENGE
The starting point for the project required the completion of exceptionally detailed architect’s drawings of the existing features of the building. These drawings had to exactly match the as built conditions of the building before any discussions on what modifications could be made were held. This was a collaborative effort between the client, the architect and our team to gather photographs and historic plans of the building to accurately draw up and document the existing conditions. On completion of this we turned our attention to identify the heritage features that were important to be retained and those modern elements that could be removed.
SOLUTION
We quickly identified the external features of the building frontage that were significant and had to be retained. The glazing along the frontage was identified as non-significant to the heritage fabric and correctly classed as a modern addition that could be removed or modified. With the guidance of the CS team the client was able to present an acceptable demolition plan to Council as part of the planning application that was approved by councils heritage advisor with no amendments required.
“We found the CS team to be highly diligent and provided a fast and comprehensive service. We would happily recommend this agency for your town planning and council requirements.”
ADAM WEEKS
■ Telstra, 325 Chapel Street,
Prahran
This Telstra retail outlet triggered a planning permit because of heritage controls in the busy Chapel Street precinct and included the installation of a external green wall and almost entire demolition of the existing building façade.
CHALLENGE
Demolition of the façade in a heritage precinct is generally not supported by Stonnington City Council and they also had concerns regarding the installation of a green wall along Chapel Street.
SOLUTION
Our team developed an idea to recess the green wall into the building and also set up the majority of the new signage within the building so the new façade consisted entirely of glass and some lightweight timber cladding. This approach was accepted by Council and the client was permitted to continue the fitout.
“A genuine desire to listen and help get the best possible outcome for us is what we received from the team at CS. We look forward to working together again.”
S. BLEWETT
■ SAE Institute, 235 Normanby Rd,
South Melbourne
SAE are a tertiary education provider that specialise in the creative media industry. They provide courses in the areas of animation, film, gaming and others. This site forms their primary campus within the city of Melbourne.
CHALLENGE
The site is along a designated metropolitan highway and the proposal included alteration of access arrangements and installation of bike parks that are directly accessible from the highway, requiring approval from Vicroads. The institute also remained open until late at night seven days per week.
SOLUTION
The CS team recognised that Vicroads support was critical for the proposed level of bike parks within the site and approached Vicroads for support before approaching council. This proactive approach provided council a high level of assurance that the site had been carefully considered as suitable for an education use prior to an application being lodged. The institute also remains open to students until 11pm and to resolve any issues council had with this our experts lodged documentation with council demonstrating the nearest residential property was in excess of two hundred metres away and the late operating hours would not affect existing residential amenity.
“I found your service to be very good and easy to deal with. Thanks again for your help to get this completed.”
JOHN REUS
■ Bfit, 8 Garden Road,
Clayton
‘BFit’ is a class only based gymnasium that operates classes in the early morning and evening and is closed during normal business hours. They are usually located within semi industrial areas with residential houses nearby.
CHALLENGE
‘Bfit’premises rely on shared car parking for their members and never have the car parking supply to cater for all the members during class times. This can be of concern for nearby business’ and residents who also rely on shared car parking to accommodate visitors and customers.
SOLUTION
As part of any gym application we appoint a dedicated traffic engineer to identify the car parking supply and demand around the premises so we can accurately forecast the extent of an issue car parking will be around the premises. This dedicated traffic report is lodged with the town planning application in a proactive approach to the likely objections from the public on based on car parking. This approach is well received by Council and despite the application receiving a number of objections it was approved in January 2022.
“Thank you to your highly skilled and professional team for their efforts and hard work. Your friendly, professional and prompt team create an atmosphere where it is a pleasure to collaborate. We always have, and I believe will continue to have the highest regard for the excellence that CS Town Planning Services bring to the table.“
BORIS S
■ 111 Cecil Street,
Melbourne
‘Schnitz’ restaurants will be well known to all Victorians as one of the fastest growing franchises in Australia. The CS team is Schmitz’s preferred consultant to run town planning applications for their stores through council. This corner site in South Melbourne is opposite south Melbourne markets and is also heritage listed.
CHALLENGE
Heritage listed buildings in the City of Port Phillip are treated very conservatively by Councils planning department so any large signage or external fixtures such as awnings or even painted logos on the building will not be allowed by Council. The rationale behind this is that they do not want anything that could detract from the heritage significance of the building as experienced by the average passer-by on the street.
SOLUTION
The CS planning team had to work diligently with the Schnitz branding team to broker an outcome that meant the restaurant was easily recognisable to its customers from the outside and did not erode the heritage significance of the building. The result was the approval of the application and the restaurant opened its doors in 2015.
“I would like to pass on our gratitude for your efforts in assisting us to get a Town Planning Permit. During the course of proceeding we faced many challenges, but you were never fazed cuted the VCAT case extremely professionally. I have no doubt that if not for your efforts, a lesser result would have prevailed.”
JOE & JANINE SCARMOZZINO
■ F45, 1416 High Street,
Malvern
‘F45’ is a class only based gymnasium that operates classes outside typical business hours when there is most demand for the service. It is one of the fastest growing global gym franchises and there is one in most suburbs of metropolitan Melbourne.
CHALLENGE
This gym had attracted complaints from the tenants of a neighbouring residential apartment building for early operating hours and playing live music loudly. The complaints resulted in enforcement action and monitoring being undertaken by Stonington City Council and the possibility of council supporting a retrospective application to formalise the five am opening time looked unlikely.
SOLUTION
This case required conflict resolution skills that are common place in planning disputes. The first step in the process was to ensure the gym was operating within the permitted times under the council approved planning permit. Once the gym has demonstrated compliance with the approved conditions for a six month timeframe and relations with the residential neighbours improved our client approached each of the neighbours to discuss the reasons why they were seeking to open earlier with each of the neighbours affected. Contact details between the owner of the gym and each of the neighbours were shared and as a result there were no objections lodged to our planning application to increase opening hours and council approved the application.
“At the hearing it became obvious that the research and preparation for the case had been detailed and extensive by CS. Several steams of argument to support our case were presented. The presentation to the tribunal was clear, logical and ordered and amounted to a compelling case.”
RICHELLE S
■ 88 Collins Street, Melbourne
This retail fit out within a pristine heritage listed building required planning approval in an area where heritage conservation controls are exceptionally rigid. On account of our demonstrated experience in the area CS were selected to guide the architect team through the required approvals.
CHALLENGE
The starting point for the project required the completion of exceptionally detailed architect’s drawings of the existing features of the building. These drawings had to exactly match the as built conditions of the building before any discussions on what modifications could be made were held. This was a collaborative effort between the client, the architect and our team to gather photographs and historic plans of the building to accurately draw up and document the existing conditions. On completion of this we turned our attention to identify the heritage features that were important to be retained and those modern elements that could be removed.
SOLUTION
We quickly identified that the mosaic tiles within the building frontage were significant and had to be retained along with the pillars and ornamental period embellishments across the façade. The glazing along the frontage was identified as non-significant to the heritage fabric and correctly classed as a modern addition that could be removed or modified. With the guidance of the CS team the client was able to present an acceptable demolition plan to Council as part of the planning application that was approved by councils heritage advisor with no amendments required.
“We found the CS team to be highly diligent and provided a fast and comprehensive service. We would happily recommend this agency for your town planning and council requirements.”
ADAM WEEKS