Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Apr 23, 2008 3:32 pm Hi everyone,
Well guess what? We found some land...well sort of After a massive LONG search we think we may have found a perfect block, there is just one small problem. The block measurements are; 16.5 x 34.7 The house we want to build is 14.5 (the house is smaller in width than this but this is the min.block width builder needs) x 22 Great this means we have 12.7m for back and front yard. Now I was hoping for a setback of 5m, leaving 7m for backyard space. The problem is the current house is setback at 9m!! So if we have to keep the same we would only have 3.7m for backyard - no thanks - if this is the case we won't buy the block. Now the house next door is on a corner allotment and seems to be setback quite far too, probably about 8m... The house on the other side is actually turned the other way around (if this make sense) so on display from street level is the backyard and just a big fence...so no real setback.... I am wondering if people think there is any way we could get a 5m setback in this situation, I rang the council (Hobsons Bay) and was given the old speal 'Setback must be the same as the houses on either side, you can submit changes to this through council and they may or may not be approved' Great, well I don't want to buy the block, submit plans to council, and then have them rejected and be stuck with land I can't build on.. After such a LONG wait, I thought this may be it, but nope another hurdle.. Any advice Re: Setbacks and council 2Apr 23, 2008 4:11 pm Brother went through this process with Darebin City Council.
He bought a block and knocked down the house. His new setback was determined on the basis of the setbacks of the adjacent houses viz-a-viz http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff2/mikeb1968/Setback.jpg Even though the original house was much closer to the road. I think you could ask for a dispensation on the basis that the other house has a larger than normal setback, but as you said you'd have to buy the block.....and that's a risk you may not wish to take. There's probably others on the forum with more direct experience particularly on the council process. Good luck with the block hunting..... mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Setbacks and council 3Apr 23, 2008 4:14 pm A quick phone call to council will answer your question.
It will be specific to your area. I dare say that if all the houses in that street/area have a 8-9m setback then thats what council will require. You may be able to get away with the garage being a tad closer but not the living areas. Good luck Re: Setbacks and council 4Apr 23, 2008 4:20 pm Quote: Shady Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 4:14 pm Post subject: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A quick phone call to council will answer your question. Quote: I rang the council (Hobsons Bay) and was given the old speal 'Setback must be the same as the houses on either side, you can submit changes to this through council and they may or may not be approved' Sounds like she already did, maybe you could go by the others being strange - one a corner block and the other turned around. Good Luck fingers crossed for you. Paula Re: Setbacks and council 5Apr 23, 2008 4:27 pm Opps, Sorry..Didnt read that bit...
Then Speak to a 'Town planner' and not the girl at the front desk. You should be able to get a better answer then 'submit your application and see'. If not, I wouldn't risk it. You could purchase an option to buy the land, get the council stuff sorted then excersie the option if all turns out ok. Re: Setbacks and council 6Apr 23, 2008 4:27 pm Thanks guys...
It's just so frustrating - you think you are there, and then something stuffs up Most of the houses have a deep setback as most of the lots are 40m +, it just so happens the block we are looking at has been subdivided at the back so we lose about 7 metres of yard I might call the council again and explain the circumstances. I don't like my chances though Re: Setbacks and council 7Apr 23, 2008 5:24 pm Quote: You may be able to get away with the garage being a tad closer but not the living areas. But possibly not. As you may have council restrictions/ encumbrances like we have that garage is not allowed to protrude in front of house line. Something else to check out when planning these things. Re: Setbacks and council 8Apr 23, 2008 5:35 pm I probably wouldn't be look at making any major changes to the plan so looks like the garage option is out anyway...
I will ask to speak to someone a little more in the know, it's just so risky... I'm seriously considering doing a letterbox drop of old houses I have seen in streets I like.... The wait is a killer!! Re: Setbacks and council 9Apr 23, 2008 5:38 pm Helyn Quote: You may be able to get away with the garage being a tad closer but not the living areas. But possibly not. As you may have council restrictions/ encumbrances like we have that garage is not allowed to protrude in front of house line. Something else to check out when planning these things. From the Victorian Dept of Planning and Community Development website. One of the general design "suggestions" for setbacks and I guess councils probably take these into consideration in their planning approval processes. Garages set forward of dwellings can dominate the streetscape and negatively impact on neighbourhood character. mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Setbacks and council 10Apr 23, 2008 6:21 pm We just had our dispensation for increased minimum setback approved. Our neighbours have setbacks of 8.8m and 4m, and we were able to get ours approved for 4.8m. Our council did say to us that they don't like garages being even in line with the front of the house (let alone protruding), but they still approved ours.
We had to draw a map of the street with pictures of the other houses with garages or carports in line with or in front of the house, and get approval from nearly every other house in the street. All up the process took 4.5 months. Are there any townhouses going up in the street, or even in the surrounding ones? This might help your chances as they are usually very close to the front of the block. Re: Setbacks and council 11Apr 23, 2008 6:40 pm donuts All up the process took 4.5 months. Good to know that it is possible....which council? mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Setbacks and council 12Apr 23, 2008 6:55 pm Ring your local council and ask to speak to a town planner. Re: Setbacks and council 13Apr 23, 2008 6:59 pm I know people who've built in Williamstown, Hobson's Bay are a VERY picky council - perhaps because of all the period homes. I'd suggest that your purchase of the block is unacceptably risky if it's predicated upon getting the "generous" setback dispensation that you need.
I can't believe some posters suggesting that you "just need to call the council". You know what they say about verbal agreements - what happens when some fool public servant tells you "yeah, no worries, she'll be right", you buy the block, submit the paperwork and BAM it comes back disapproved ? We got a 1.5m dispensation for our place (Glen Eira Council). When we enquired over the phone as to the process, we were told wrong information, which led to a delay in the process until we found out the right info. Moral of the story : even if you are told something, it means nothing until it's on paper. To get to the paperwork part, you need to own the property. Cheers, Justin. Re: Setbacks and council 15Apr 23, 2008 7:26 pm donuts hey to do list, we are in Maribyrnong. Only one council 'over' from Hobson's Bay, so it's possible they may have similar planning objectives?? No idea I'm afraid...what I was quoting was the general planning objectives of the Victorian Government which are designed to guide local government in their planning. Coincidentally I posted these yesterday on https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.p ... highlight= at one stage I was looking through them to see if a particular block I had in mind would work and also to help the Bro out. They are an trudge to read ... gave me a migraine. But it sounds like you've sorted your issues out....from your previous post? Mike A Fool Public Servant..... mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Setbacks and council 16Apr 23, 2008 7:41 pm Oh they do look unpleasant to read. You really mustn't have been able to sleep I had to read through something similar when putting together our application.
Yep, our problems are all sorted now for us it was worth the wait. Re: Setbacks and council 17Apr 23, 2008 8:31 pm Hi guys
Wow thanks for the overwhelming response - it's so great to have everyone helping out and pitching ideas - we need all the help we can get! I'll definatly ask to speak to a town planner. I know Williamstown are very strict, we want to build in Newport the next suburb over, there are a lot of modern townhouses going up, particulary in the street we are looking at...driving along the street though, most are at the same setback of the house next to them, so it will definatly seem unlikey we will get approval.... I know one thing is for sure I will not purchase the land until I have it in writing what the setback is, and if that means they won't give it to me until I own the property, well then I guess our search for land continues Thanks again for all your help, will keep you updated with our journey Cheers Bel Re: Setbacks and council 18Apr 30, 2008 7:31 pm Can you sign a conditional contract on it so that you don't lose the block?
That is, make the deal conditional on getting the letter from planning within 30 days or something? In the end, with property everything is negotiable! Builders are people too.... My land is 260m2 (10m x 26m) located in claymore NSW. Under campbelltown council. I know in general the following setbacks would apply ground floor side setback =… 0 7396 We've had the offer of a short term tenant whilst waiting for CDC/DA home approval and demolition for our knock down rebuild. It would achieve a pretty low rent as it's… 0 14781 This was on google. Development controls 2.3.1 Front setback D1 New buildings within residential areas shall adhere to a front building line, which is 5.5-6m to the… 1 4065 |