After spending months delayed due to the land not being registered, it was time to experience the proficiency of submitting our plans to council for approval. Our former neighbours who are consequently also building at Vermont at the same time as well (great people if they are reading) had lodged with the Hawkesbury Council a month or to earlier, managed to get DA approval in 12 days! With this in mind we were extremely hopeful we would get approved in the same time frame as we are using the same builder, same land size (within a few sqm's) and were located only one street away! We could not have been more wrong.
As it turns out it all depends on who is looking after your file in council at the time. McDonald Jones lodged the plans with council in the first week in July and it is here everything came to a stop. Persistent phone calls to the council went on deaf ears or we were told that they were under staffed, people were on annual leave or sick. Every excuse under the sun was used but they could not tell us why someone five houses away with the same builder got approved in 12 days. I know technically they have got 40 business days to approve plans but consistency is what we wanted. We did not receive Council approval till the last day in August!! Very disappointing and to think they are going to be our local Council from now on. Lets hope they can remember to empty our bins because as sure as night follows day I know they won't forget when our rates are due!!
Anyway, with this aside things have progressed quickly since the Council debacle and McDonald Jones have been fantastic. Time to start the build!!
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