Authorised Consultant for City of Newcastle Accelerated Development Pathway

We are thrilled to announce that Approved has been accepted as an authorised consultant for the newly created Accelerated Development Approval Pathway by the City of Newcastle.

The pathway is an innovative initiative developed to streamline the assessment of low-risk development applications, and Approved has been an integral part of the pilot period that led to its creation.

As one of the select few private planning consultants, Approved will be eligible to submit DA’s for a Council assessment timeframe of just five days. Should Council request further information for the application, the DA will remain accelerated with a maximum assessment timeframe of 15 days.

Due to our involvement in the Pilot period of the initiative and now being one of the limited Authorised Consultants, Approved have the experience and knowledge to get you approved faster than ever with an application of the highest quality.

How does it work?

Your Approved Town Planner will begin the assessment of the development by comparing your project against the ADA Checklist to determine eligibility. At this stage, recommendations may be made which can include minor design changes in order to proceed with an ADA application for a 5-day approval.

If your project meets the criteria, we will begin the process of preparing the ADA. This will include the Approved Town Planner undertaking a Site Visit, completing a Consultancy Report in replacement of a Statement of Environmental Effects (SEE) and liaising with Council regarding the development.

Your Client Manager will prepare the documents required for the ADA and submitting the application to the City of Newcastle. 

The eligibility of this process will be identified at the Preliminary Planning Assessment (PPA) Stage of our engagement and the steps forward, if you choose to proceed with an ADA, will be guided by your allocated Approved team.

If you choose not to proceed with an ADA a regular Development Application pathway with an average assessment timeframe of 10-12 weeks will be prepared at your direction.  

What development types can be approved using ADA?

The following development types may be eligible for assessment under the ADA program (subject to meeting specific criteria):

• Residential Dwellings (including alterations and additions)
• Residential Ancillary Development (Pools, pergolas, etc)
• Secondary Dwellings 
• Demolition 
• Change of Business Use 
• Commercial Development 
• Light Industrial Development 
• Signage 
• Strata Subdivision 
• Torrens Title 
• Section 4.55(1) and 4.55(1A) Modification

You can check out a case study of the ADA in action here, where our client in Kotara had their whole development approved in 4 days!

If you have any questions or would like to discuss the potential likelihood of your next development, contact Approved on 1300 475 475 or click here to get started.

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