Development.i recognised for its innovative approach

Development.i, Sunshine Coast Council’s revolutionary development tracking and visualisation platform, won the Improving Planning Processes and Practices award at the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) Queensland Awards for Planning Excellence, held in Brisbane on Friday November 8, 2019.

Council launched the in-house developed platform in October 2018, where it quickly set the new Australian benchmark for accessing development information, empowering communities to be informed about development and engaging them in the planning process.

Planning and Development Portfolio Councillor Christian Dickson said allowing communities to be engaged and informed was at the heart of contemporary town planning.

“The platform is a powerful tool to anyone from home owners, concerned citizens, community groups, real-estate agents, development consultants, investors, town planners and councillors,” Cr Dickson said.

“By law, local and state governments are required to provide development application information to the public – but unfortunately, many of these systems are difficult to use and do not meet community and industry expectations.

“Development.i is as easy to navigate as a real estate search website.

“This new online tool lets you see what development is happening near you on a map, easily change filters and save searches you are interested in, receive alerts when new applications are lodged and track the status of an application as it progresses – plus lots more.

“Since its launch, the platform has enjoyed positive feedback from the community and industry and high interest from local governments across Australia.

“So much so that in August council signed an agreement with a Queensland company, allabout Xpert, to provide the solution to other council’s and communities around Australia.”

The Development.i will now be in the running for a PIA National Award.

To access Development.i visit developmenti.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/