Our previous article looked at one of the most commonly overlooked aspects of any subdivision/development – the provision of unencumbered services to each subdivided land allotment.
This week we’ll continue the theme and look at what is possibly the second most overlooked aspect when it comes to servicing your land.
Subdividing Land: Are you being served? Part II.
Ensuring unencumbered services are provided to each subdivided land allotment is definitely forward thinking.
However getting to that point makes one important assumption:
That there are already services and connection points provided directly to your land.
As many developers have found out, this is not always the case.
What if your land is not currently being serviced?
If services are not located nearby, as a developer it is your obligation to ensure that services are brought to the land in question.
Consider the following diagram:
Development A has existing services (eg. represented by the Green Line – gas, water, sewerage etc) running on the same side of the road as the land to be serviced.
Development B has services running on the opposite side of the road as the land to be serviced.
What does this difference mean?
Development A:
- Can simply connect their land to the provided services as needed with minimal fuss.
Development B must:
- Arrange for service extensions to be run from the existing services, underneath the road to the land in question.
- Factor in the possible closing of traffic while the extensions are being run through.
- Factor in the additional time it will take to coordinate each different service provider to run their extensions to your lot
- Factor in the additional costs it will take for each provider to run their service extensions.
- Factor in the completion of these service extensions before servicing of each subdivided lot in the development can commence.
It is not uncommon for these additional ‘Development B’ service arrangements and costs to not be considered until late in the development when trades arrive on site to connect services – only to discover that there is nowhere to connect them to.
What if there are no services at all?
Further, the above example is still a best case scenario as it assumes that all services are available and nearby so only an extension is required.
Sometimes, one (or several) services are not available at all.
A common example of this might be in outer metropolitan/regional developments where sewerage services are not provided because there is no sewerage infrastructure.
The developer, therefore, must provide an on-site sewerage solution and reticulation field. (As a side note, a reticulation field can significantly diminish your Building Envelope and thus your development density).
Needless to say, at such a late point in any development, any preventable surprises like these are unwelcome at best.
Subdividing Land: Servicing Conclusion
When subdividing land or simply building your dream home:
- Don’t leave your service considerations until the last minute.
- Contact each of your local service providers well in advance and check if there are existing services running to your lot or if extensions will be required.
- If extensions are required, factor in the associated costs and timeframe.
- Ensure these are factored in budget & project plan.
- Contact your local trades involved with each service type if necessary.
SUBDIVIDING LAND IN VICTORIA?
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Great advice guys, glad I stumbled across your blog via your twitter account.
Its something that can be easily overlooked by a purchaser.
We also find owners are not aware that a property may be part of an owners corporation. The land may be affected by Design Controls, Owners Corporation Rules and additional fees etc.
Very true – thanks for the tip Michael!