Planning and Approvals

Description

Planning & Approvals In many countries and in states within countries, the whole process of gaining approval to construct a marina or pleasure boat harbour is so long and so uncertain that many technically and financially viable projects never eventuate. Either the developer cannot afford the cost of the process or he is unwilling to take the risk of not getting approval. Alternatively there are other projects that will give him a satisfactory financial return with far fewer problems. This paper is concerned with some of the problems in gaining approval for a marina development. It suggests a mechanism for developing a regional approach to evaluating the whole of the coast so that if a marina is proposed with certain features and in a certain location, there can be some certainty as to the likelihood of it being able to be approved. The background to the paper is the processes that have been gone through in the State of Victoria. Australia over the last four years. These processes have resulted in the development of The Victorian Coastal Strategy by The Victorian Coastal Council, a statutory body set up by the State Government for the strategic planning and management of the coast.