Council's Planning Officers are available to answer planning enquiries for properties throughout the Western Downs Region and would be happy to answer your enquiry. You can get in contact with a Planning Officer by phone, email or a counter enquiry at Council's customer service centres.
It is advised that planning enquiries are property specific and a property address is required to answer a planning enquiry as well as a clear description of the type and nature of your proposal.
If your enquiry is of a general nature, you can also access planning information such as property mapping on Council's Online Mapping Tool and information on active and decided development applications by accessing the Development.i Tool below:
Zone Cards
Council has prepared zone cards which provide information on the planning intent of each zone and the types of development supported and not supported in each zone. The zone cards may be useful to you in understanding if your development will be supported in the zone of the property you have selected.
The Zone Cards can be accessed below:
- Community Facility Zone Card(PDF, 230KB)
- District Centre Zone Card(PDF, 251KB)
- High Impact Industry Zone Card(PDF, 238KB)
- Local Centre Zone Card(PDF, 246KB)
- Low Density Residential Zone Card(PDF, 261KB)
- Low Impact Industry Zone Card(PDF, 237KB)
- Major Centre Zone Card(PDF, 273KB)
- Medium Density Residential Zone Card(PDF, 233KB)
- Medium Impact Industry Zone Card(PDF, 222KB)
- Recreation and Open Space Zone Card(PDF, 215KB)
- Rural Residential Zone Card(PDF, 233KB)
- Rural Zone Card(PDF, 200KB)
- Township Zone Card(PDF, 209KB)
Council encourages potential applicants to meet with Planning Officers prior to lodging a Development Application for Council's assessment.
A Pre-lodgement Meeting provides the applicant with the opportunity to discuss and receive feedback on technical aspects of their proposal on a specific parcel of land following the review of preliminary proposal plans and information provided by the applicant.
A Pre-lodgement Meeting will not provide an assessment of all aspects of the proposal and Council is unable to guarantee a proposal will be approved by Council.
Advice provided at the Pre-lodgement Meeting is informal in nature but is helpful in identifying any issues that may need to be resolved to avoid unexpected delays and to ensure that a quality application is lodged for Council's assessment. Pre-lodgement Meetings also ensure that you are aware of the potential costs, timeframes and any potential issues of the development assessment process before proceeding to lodge an application for Council's assessment.
To request a pre-lodgement meeting with Council, please fill in the online form below:
Pre-lodgement Meeting Request Form
To fill in the Pre-lodgement Request Form, you will require the following information regarding the proposal:
- the location of the development site including real property description (Lot and Plan) and street address;
- a list of attendees for the meeting;
- a date and time that you wish to meet with a Planning Officer and the preferred Council meeting (ie if for a face to face or online meeting);
- proposal plans of your development for the officer's review (prior to the meeting);
- information on the type of business you seek to operate on the property, buildings proposed to be built on the land and if you seek to subdivide or realign the boundaries of the property; and
- an indication of the issue/s that you seek clarification from Council during the meeting.
Once you have submitted the Pre-lodgement Request Form to Council, Council's Planning Administration team will be in contact with you to arrange the meeting. Please be advised that Council officers are available for face to face meetings at a Council office or electronically by using Microsoft Teams which will allow you to remain in the comfort of your home.