False claims of community benefit are often made by the applicant’s consultant planner in the DA’s accompanying planning statement. This statement is called the Statement of Environmental Effects (SEE), a statutory support document that is supposed to provide a professional and unbiased planning appraisal against applicable planning controls and regulations. We know from experience this rarely occurs, with SEE’s often providing a glowing review of how the development application will cause minimal disruption to neighbours and even benefit the community.

Providing a strong rebuttal to any false or misleading statements made by the SEE is thus essential to ensuring council does not simply accept the conclusions of the SEE without fully considering the true impacts of the proposal. At iObject, we counter any false claims by the applicant’s SEE using detailed planning argumentation, offering an alternative planning appraisal of the application (otherwise know as a ‘Counter-SEE’). Our submissions provide the responsible assessment officer at council with valuable planning material that can then be used to justify refusal or amendment of the development application.

Inadequate changes made to plans after a detailed submission may be avoided if professional accountability is firmly in place. At iObject, we use qualified town planners to advocate on your behalf, communicating peer-to-peer with the assigned officer assessing the development application.

Our planners have built up a strong rapport with many council planners over time, such that consideration of our submissions are often given the due regard they deserve under planning law. Advocating for your planning concerns directly with the responsible officer can ensure your case is heard in a professional manner, using the same regulatory language as the assessment process. In doing so, any technical matters requiring further action by council are more likely to receive a fair hearing without simply being dismissed as neighbours squabbling.

iObject has a solid track record lobbying council and getting results. When coupled with a detailed iObject submission, Clients who choose to engage our ongoing negotiation services have a much higher success rate with altering the development outcome in their favour.

Development proposals can often contain architectural styles deeply out-of-step with the prevailing character of your street. This may result in a visually confronting building that is unattractive, causing a ‘visual nuisance’ that might appear jarring or unwelcoming.

Inconsistent or poor design can also disrupt the continuity of building forms within a street, leading to a new precedent when future proposals are brought before council. Minimising poor design through encouraging beautiful built environments is one of iObject’s central pillars. Beautiful settings can both inspire and create opportunities for meaningful encounters. This is why supporting good design through the planning approvals system is essential to enhancing the liveability for our environments.

Using our innovative design review technique, iObject can provide you with the means to deal with an unsympathetic development application, in accordance with State and local government policies regulating good design.