THE planning application process in the Yarra Ranges is about to enter the digital age.
In an effort to increase productivity and reduce costs, the shire has introduced ePlanning Track, which allows live information on planning applications before council.
The service allows the public to search for applications by address, suburb, application number or current advertising.
Through this service, the shire has become one of the first Victorian local governments to allow live tracking of planning applications.
Yarra Ranges Council Director of Social and Economic Development, Ali Wastie, said ePlanning would revolutionise the way planning services were delivered.
“The community will benefit from a faster turnaround of applications,” Ms Wastie said.
“We will significantly reduce our environmental footprint by moving away from a heavily paper reliant way of working throughout 2017.”
While presently the public can only track applications, later this year the shire will become the first local government in Victoria to offer track, lodge and inquire facilities.
Inquire will allow the community to understand what development can and cannot go ahead on any specific property and can answer simple planning-related inquiries.
Lodge will enable the community to lodge applications electronically using online payments and a customised checklist, showing all the information they will need to provide.
The shire estimates the initiative will save 600 reams of paper (equivalent to a 30m stack of A4 pages) and $10,000 in printing costs annually.
In addition, the shire said benefits will include:
* Improved customer service;
* Faster processing and turnaround of applications;
* Sharing information more efficiently and transparently with customers.
Customers can now access ePlanning online or by using the new computer terminals at all of the Yarra Ranges’ Community Links.
Visit ePlanning Track at eplanning.yarraranges.vic.gov.au.
