User-friendly planning scheme platform to go online

The new online planning scheme platform will play a valuable role in the growth of the Scenic Rim

Scenic Rim Regional Council's investment in an online planning platform will pay dividends for Council and the community through time and cost savings from early 2023.

Council's 2022-2023 Budget includes $70,000 for the Scenic Rim Planning Scheme 2020 e-Plan Project to streamline town planning enquiries.

Scenic Rim Mayor Greg Christensen said the new e-Plan will combine mapping and planning scheme documents in a single, user-friendly platform providing enhanced service delivery in line with current community and industry expectations.

"Council continues to strive to provide a high level of customer service and this project is another significant business improvement initiative," he said.

Division 1 Councillor Derek Swanborough said while the Scenic Rim Planning Scheme 2020 is currently available on Council's website as a series of un-linked PDF documents supported by interactive mapping, the new e-Plan will deliver a user-friendly format combining mapping and planning scheme documents in a single platform which includes a property enquiry function and the ability to extract information to support development applications.

"This will greatly assist with user enquiries, preparation of development applications and enable customers to engage with the Planning Scheme in their own time," he said.

Mayor Christensen said the current appetite for building and development across the region had seen a marked increase in the number of enquiries received by Council about the Planning Scheme.

"Many of the enquiries received by Council's planning team - almost 3,000 telephone enquiries and several hundred emails between February 2021 and January 2022 - could have been answered simply through access to an e-Plan,” he said.

"Improved access to information required for the completion of accompanying reports will also help to streamline the development application process, both for Council and the community.

"The introduction of the e-Plan represents another milestone in the region's journey following the adoption of the Scenic Rim's first ever unified Planning Scheme in 2020.

"This online platform will play a valuable role in the growth of our region as the Scenic Rim continues to power ahead, with some 10,000 additional dwellings and essential infrastructure needed to meet the projected population growth between now and 2041."

The Scenic Rim Planning Scheme 2020 is expected to be delivered in an e-planning format by December 2022 and accessible on Council's website by February 2023.