Planning and Approvals

Where we come in

At Baxter Ecology, we like to work closely with the consultant team to provide you with the most accurate reports we can. We can help you navigate the complex Council planning schemes and site overlays, as well as provide you with advice on making sure permit conditions are adhered to throughout the design and construction stages of your project.

What this does for you

When working closely with the design team, we can identify potential conflicts in the design with the arboricultural and ecological aspects of the planning scheme and council local laws, providing you with a better chance of keeping your project out of the constant RFI loop.

Our Main Services

• Arboricultural Services

• Preliminary Tree Assessments
• Arboricultural Impact Assessments
• Tree Protection Specifications and Tree Protection Plans

• Ecological Services

• Native Vegetation and Offset Reports

• Bushfire Management Services

• Bushfire Management Statement and Plans
• BAL Assessments

Planning Zones and Overlays

Zones are applied the land to ensure it is assigned for a particular use. These may include:

• residential.
• industrial.
• commercial.

All properties are within a zone and can be subject to different rules when applying for a planning permit.

Planning Overlays are further planning controls applied to a parcel of land. Unlike zones, not all land has an overlay, and some can be affected by more than one. The land these overlays apply to have a special area of interest that requires unique controls, such as bushfire risk, heritage building, or flood risk.

Some of the overlays that we work with most often include:

• Environmental Significance Overlay.
• Vegetation Protection Overlay.
• Significant Landscape Overlay.
• Bushfire Management Overlay.

If you want to find out more about the zone and overlays on your property, you can find it with VicPlan.

Planning and Design Consulting

Not only do we provide you with the reports needed to submit to Council, but with a sound understanding of the Victorian Planning Scheme, we can consult and provide recommendations on draft designs and engineering even before any of our reports are needed to minimise the number of times needed to go back and amend plans. The earlier in the process we're engaged, the smoother the process is for all involved.