You've just found a cracker of a development site. You've done your checks and it's definitely developable and appears to be profitable, too.
But it's on a main road.
Like most of us, you can't imagine why anyone would want to live near a busy road, and so you hesitate. Is the main road a deal killer?
Maybe, maybe not. But it is a signal that you really need to up your due diligence game.
What's a Main Road?
Let's start at the very beginning - what is a main road? Classifications vary by state, but there is a definite hierarchy starting at the top with Motorways and descending all the way down to dirt roads in the middle of nowhere.
As a rule of thumb, a main road usually has multiple lanes in each direction and carries a LOT of traffic, particularly in peak times. However sometimes they're main roads because they connect suburbs or major centres. So part of your due diligence is finding out the classification of your road.
Keep in mind that no matter what classification your road has, more traffic equals more challenges.
Who owns the road?
The next important step is to find out whether the road is managed by your State Government or the local Council. It may take a bit of research, but once you find out, you know which set of rules you need to follow.
This part of the process can get ridiculously complicated. Doing one thing needs to be approved by the government, but then doing something else needs approval from the Council.
And sometimes you need approval from both for the same thing! Be prepared to spend time reading lots of boring regulations to get this bit right. Or pay someone else to do it.
Either way, the bigger the bureaucracy, the more likely things will take longer. So factor those time delays into your timeframes, allow for the resulting holding costs, and be prepared for additional conditions above and beyond what you normally encounter when developing a property.
Crossovers
It's becoming almost universal now that cars are expected to be able to exit a property in a forward direction. This means that they drive in, turn around, and drive out again.
On a main road, this is even more important. The last thing you want is for cars to be backing out into peak hour traffic on a main road. So you need to incorporate turning areas or other methods for turning cars around so this can happen.
Also, if you have a situation where you want to have a couple of properties on their own title each with a separate crossover, you're likely to struggle to get the development approved. Councils and governments prefer less entry points onto a main road, not more.
Waste Management
I've driven past plenty of older unit developments on bin day, and the kerb is wall-to-wall wheelie bins, given they were approved and built long before current waste management requirements.
Most Councils now have limits on how many bins can be placed on the kerb, particularly on main roads. After all, do you want to be stuck behind a rubbish truck picking up a long row of wheelie bins?
So if your development site involves more than a couple of dwellings, chances are you'll need to find a way to manage waste collection within the property. This could involve things such as:
Height is a particular problem if you're planning on having basement parking.
Also remember that waste management services provided by private contractors cost money. It will be an ongoing cost to anyone who buys into the development, and higher owner's corporation costs may put some people off.
Parking
Another thorny problem, particularly for larger developments. Councils generally have specific guidelines about how many parking spots are required for any development, including visitor parking. These are likely to be even more stringent on a main road, given the disruption to traffic parked cars can cause.
Minimum requirements will be set by the Council, and yes, you can allow the absolute minimum, but lack of parking for themselves and friends may deter potential buyers.
Also, be aware that a skinny block may potentially make basement parking difficult if there's not enough space to turn cars around.
Future Planning
Most of the things mentioned so far have been reasonably obvious, but this one's something of a hidden trap in a property development site.
Future plans may include widening of the road, and as a result, you could find yourself hit with special conditions such as:
This one isn't easy to spot upfront, so if there have been any other developments in the road recently, thoroughly examine their plans and DA for signs that any type of future proofing works were required.
Upgrading of Services
This is another hidden trap, particularly for large property developments. The existing services outside the property may not be sufficient to supply the needs of the additional dwellings.
So instead of being able to hook into the electricity network right outside your front door, for example, you may find yourself having to dig a long way back up the road to connect to a higher capacity line.
This can apply for:
It's not hard to guess that longer distances equals more cost. You may also need to incorporate fire fighting facilities into your development; for example a fire hydrant or fire hose on site.
Traffic
It's almost inevitable that you will need to use a traffic engineer for your project if more than a couple of dwellings are involved.
The traffic engineer will assess things like:
Still, even noise attenuation requirements such as sound deadening materials in walls, thicker glazing or acoustic fencing can quickly add up.
And when you've finally jumped through all the hoops and ticked all the boxes, then you have to deal with....
Construction
Most of the time you can use the road outside your site without any great inconvenience to anyone. But on a main road? Definitely not.
So you need to have plans in place for dealing with things like:
You definitely need a traffic management plan for some of these, such as having a combination of concrete trucks and pumpers working from the road.
Even installing or upgrading a single crossover may require traffic management using signage, lollipop people, or even temporary traffic lights.
The increased cost is bad enough, but also allow for the amount of time it takes to get the necessary permits for all these traffic management requirements. Definitely don't leave it until the day before!
When It's All Finished...
And after all of the above, be realistic about the resale prices for your end product. Look for comparables that are also located on a main road, and preferably the same one.
The bottom line is that if you have a development site on a main road, due diligence and preparation are key. Bureaucracy can be slow and frustrating to deal with, so make sure you plan out your tasks well in advance and factor in both the cost and time required to allow for the extra snags involved in developing on a main road.
That's the best way to avoid getting any nasty surprises during the project.
But it's on a main road.
Like most of us, you can't imagine why anyone would want to live near a busy road, and so you hesitate. Is the main road a deal killer?
Maybe, maybe not. But it is a signal that you really need to up your due diligence game.
What's a Main Road?
Let's start at the very beginning - what is a main road? Classifications vary by state, but there is a definite hierarchy starting at the top with Motorways and descending all the way down to dirt roads in the middle of nowhere.
As a rule of thumb, a main road usually has multiple lanes in each direction and carries a LOT of traffic, particularly in peak times. However sometimes they're main roads because they connect suburbs or major centres. So part of your due diligence is finding out the classification of your road.
Keep in mind that no matter what classification your road has, more traffic equals more challenges.
Who owns the road?
The next important step is to find out whether the road is managed by your State Government or the local Council. It may take a bit of research, but once you find out, you know which set of rules you need to follow.
This part of the process can get ridiculously complicated. Doing one thing needs to be approved by the government, but then doing something else needs approval from the Council.
And sometimes you need approval from both for the same thing! Be prepared to spend time reading lots of boring regulations to get this bit right. Or pay someone else to do it.
Either way, the bigger the bureaucracy, the more likely things will take longer. So factor those time delays into your timeframes, allow for the resulting holding costs, and be prepared for additional conditions above and beyond what you normally encounter when developing a property.
Crossovers
It's becoming almost universal now that cars are expected to be able to exit a property in a forward direction. This means that they drive in, turn around, and drive out again.
On a main road, this is even more important. The last thing you want is for cars to be backing out into peak hour traffic on a main road. So you need to incorporate turning areas or other methods for turning cars around so this can happen.
Also, if you have a situation where you want to have a couple of properties on their own title each with a separate crossover, you're likely to struggle to get the development approved. Councils and governments prefer less entry points onto a main road, not more.
Waste Management
I've driven past plenty of older unit developments on bin day, and the kerb is wall-to-wall wheelie bins, given they were approved and built long before current waste management requirements.
Most Councils now have limits on how many bins can be placed on the kerb, particularly on main roads. After all, do you want to be stuck behind a rubbish truck picking up a long row of wheelie bins?
So if your development site involves more than a couple of dwellings, chances are you'll need to find a way to manage waste collection within the property. This could involve things such as:
- storage area for large bins
- access requirements, both width and height for the collection truck
- turning areas for the truck
Height is a particular problem if you're planning on having basement parking.
Also remember that waste management services provided by private contractors cost money. It will be an ongoing cost to anyone who buys into the development, and higher owner's corporation costs may put some people off.
Parking
Another thorny problem, particularly for larger developments. Councils generally have specific guidelines about how many parking spots are required for any development, including visitor parking. These are likely to be even more stringent on a main road, given the disruption to traffic parked cars can cause.
Minimum requirements will be set by the Council, and yes, you can allow the absolute minimum, but lack of parking for themselves and friends may deter potential buyers.
Also, be aware that a skinny block may potentially make basement parking difficult if there's not enough space to turn cars around.
Future Planning
Most of the things mentioned so far have been reasonably obvious, but this one's something of a hidden trap in a property development site.
Future plans may include widening of the road, and as a result, you could find yourself hit with special conditions such as:
- allowing a larger setback than expected for buildings
- easements on the property for future services
- requirement to relocate existing services onto your property at your cost
This one isn't easy to spot upfront, so if there have been any other developments in the road recently, thoroughly examine their plans and DA for signs that any type of future proofing works were required.
Upgrading of Services
This is another hidden trap, particularly for large property developments. The existing services outside the property may not be sufficient to supply the needs of the additional dwellings.
So instead of being able to hook into the electricity network right outside your front door, for example, you may find yourself having to dig a long way back up the road to connect to a higher capacity line.
This can apply for:
- electricity
- telecommunications/NBN
- water
- sewer
- gas
It's not hard to guess that longer distances equals more cost. You may also need to incorporate fire fighting facilities into your development; for example a fire hydrant or fire hose on site.
Traffic
It's almost inevitable that you will need to use a traffic engineer for your project if more than a couple of dwellings are involved.
The traffic engineer will assess things like:
- traffic loads at different times of day
- proximity to intersections and how that impacts vehicles entering and exiting the premises
- line of sight when exiting
- level of noise and whether soundproofing is required in the building or surrounds
- Probably the worst case scenario you can get hit with is if you're required to upgrade a nearby intersection to allow for the extra traffic from your development. For example, adding a roundabout at a nearby side street.
Still, even noise attenuation requirements such as sound deadening materials in walls, thicker glazing or acoustic fencing can quickly add up.
And when you've finally jumped through all the hoops and ticked all the boxes, then you have to deal with....
Construction
Most of the time you can use the road outside your site without any great inconvenience to anyone. But on a main road? Definitely not.
So you need to have plans in place for dealing with things like:
- parking of large vehicles eg concrete trucks
- delivery of materials
- parking for tradies when they're working on the site
- storage of materials
You definitely need a traffic management plan for some of these, such as having a combination of concrete trucks and pumpers working from the road.
Even installing or upgrading a single crossover may require traffic management using signage, lollipop people, or even temporary traffic lights.
The increased cost is bad enough, but also allow for the amount of time it takes to get the necessary permits for all these traffic management requirements. Definitely don't leave it until the day before!
When It's All Finished...
And after all of the above, be realistic about the resale prices for your end product. Look for comparables that are also located on a main road, and preferably the same one.
The bottom line is that if you have a development site on a main road, due diligence and preparation are key. Bureaucracy can be slow and frustrating to deal with, so make sure you plan out your tasks well in advance and factor in both the cost and time required to allow for the extra snags involved in developing on a main road.
That's the best way to avoid getting any nasty surprises during the project.
