Category Archives: Blog

Jensen Bowers Group Director and BDM, Scott Morrison, recently attended the Bentley-sponsored Year in Infrastructure 2017 conference at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.

The conference was a global gathering of leading executives and thought leaders from the world of architecture, engineering and infrastructure to engage in industry specific forums and explore the technologies and best practices that will advance project delivery and asset performance to positively impact on return on investment in the infrastructure.

Various sectors and industries were represented. All of which Jensen Bowers Group have/or are currently servicing, including Reality capture and modeling, BIM – vertical and linear, Infrastructure, 3D High Definition Scanning, UAV / Drones, Satellite imagery and more.

“I am excited that Jensen Bowers Group had the strategic insight, thought leadership and support to have invested in innovative technology, systems and a satellite imagery company, Geoimage, whose comprehensive data sets are now becoming mainstream for the life cycle of projects from feasibility and reality capture, reality modelling, design, construction and asset management, Mr Morrison said.

Of interest to me was the BIM Advancement, Construction, and Reality Capturing Academies. These sessions gave me a chance to discuss to an audience of peers the key best practices from our experience and real case study examples.

It was also great to meet the finalists of the Be Inspired Awards. The size and complexity of the majority of showcased projects was impressive. It is great to be already ahead of the game although I could identify, in many of our projects, ways where we could add even more value.

Thank you, Singapore. See you in London in 2018!”

The Be Inspired award winners can be viewed here.

Jensen Bowers are considered pioneers in BIM reality capture, reality modelling, big data sets, new technology and thought leaders in practical solutions for property and infrastructure development.

If you have a large and/or complex project which requires a professional surveying firm who utilises experienced qualified staff, the latest innovative technology and procedures feel free to call Scott Morrison, Director | BDM to discuss further.

Over the past week, Jensen Bowers’ Town Planning team hosted a series of Planning Reform roundtables to inform clients and industry associates about how the new State planning regime will affect their business.

The event brought together industry leaders and professionals from key organisations in planning, architecture and engineering sectors, to collectively discuss the key changes and challenges expected after the commencement of the Planning Act 2016 (Planning Act) and associated instruments on 3 July 2017.

The events saw guest speakers, Mr Rayne Nelms from Thomson Geer Lawyers, and Mr Gerard Timbs from Holding Redlich Lawyers, address the attendees providing in-depth insight and expert opinion, with Rayne articulating the view, that “whilst there are a lot of individual changes, fundamentally not a lot is changing in this new Act”.

“The major positive is the increased flexibility to change applications [formerly permissible changes] in removing submitter criteria and the ability to lodge major change applications”, Rayne added.

Gemma Greenhalgh, JB Planning Manager, led the roundtable discussions and welcomed the amendments to the new Act, saying “There are a lot of tweaks to the existing framework – for the most part, they are welcomed. There are a handful of traps to be aware of as well. The theory behind the changes is commended and it remains to be seen how the local governments will implement some of these”.

Jensen Bowers would like to thank everyone who attended the sessions, and contributed to the overall success of the event. “We are delighted by the support and turnout from our clients and industry peers”, Gemma said.

A sentiment shared by Greg Wilson, Director of Equis Group who said, “the event was very useful and informative”.

Jensen Bowers’ Planning team has extensively reviewed the new legislation and are well positioned to use their detailed working knowledge and 100+ years of property development experience to best represent clients’ interests.

For advice about the new Act, please call Jensen Bowers on 07 3852 1771 and speak to Gemma Greenhalgh or Emmett Herps to discuss how the regime may impact your projects.

To express your interest in attending any future events about the Planning Reform, please email Jane Zewe, Marketing Coordinator, for more information.

Senior Planner and Bushfire Planning Specialist, Laura Gannon, contributed to an exciting workshop hosted by UQ and DLA Piper late last year. The workshop focussed on climate change adaptation, planning and the law with Laura leading the collaborative discussion on community bushfire resilience.

Laura is a specialist in the area of bushfire planning and management, with extensive knowledge and experience with regard to bushfire hazard planning policy, bushfire responsive strategic planning and planning for development in bushfire hazard.

Ms Gannon believes strategic land use planning processes must utilise advancing technologies and risk assessment methodologies in the development and implementation of strategic planning instruments.

“Whilst increasingly innovative practices and data are emerging, it is how these tools are utilised and capitalised upon in a planning context, which will guide resilience activities into the future,” she said.

“Overcoming issues of risk perception, or complacency, and avoiding the continuation of the status quo is a particular challenge.”

Planning for bushfire protection is an area requiring an advanced level of emphasis particularly in the Queensland context. Climate change impacts are projected to yield longer and more severe annual fire seasons, lower average rainfall, more frequent and severe drought and higher than average temperatures.

Serious about their contribution in the climate change sphere, DLA Piper have professionally published the proceedings from the workshop, which includes Laura’s abstract.

Read the abstracts along with a number of thought provoking student papers here.

 

Brisbane has an ageing population. Increased housing choice and opportunities for ‘ageing in place’ are keenly sought after by the city’s older residents. This fact was recognised in the Independent Recommendation Report of the Lord Mayor’s Taskforce into Retirement and Aged Care produced in December 2008. The report recommends that opportunities be provided to “meet changing needs, including housing needs, associated with ageing within local communities” (Lord Mayor’s Taskforce into Retirement and Aged Care, 2008:6).

According to the Australian Government’s, 2015 Intergenerational Report, “the number of Australians aged 65 and over is projected to more than double by 2054-55”.  Brisbane is highly likely to follow this national ageing boom trend, but where does the planning scheme intend for these developments to occur? Generally, a code level of assessment is a good indication that a land use is strategically intended for a zone. Retirement Facilities and Residential Care Facilities are code assessable (where they meet certain criteria for example, building height provisions) in the following zones:

  • Low-medium Density Residential Zone (Retirement Facility only);
  • Medium Density Residential Zone;
  • High Density Residential Zone;
  • Principle Centre Zone;
  • Major Centre Zone;
  • District Centre Zone;
  • Neighbourhood Centre Zone;
  • Community Facilities Zone: Health Care Purposes Zone Precinct;
  • Community Facilities Zone: Major Health Care Zone Precinct (Residential Care Facility only); and
  • Mixed Use Zone.

Some Neighbourhood Plans specify that Retirement Facilities and Residential Care Facilities can be code assessable in the following locations:

  • Banyo-Nudgee Neighbourhood Plan – Nudgee north sub-precinct and Nudgee south precinct, where in the Emerging Community Zone; and
  • Lower Oxley Creek South Neighbourhood Plan (if on a site 3,000m2 or greater).

The Residential Care Facility code supports development that is located in higher density areas and within easy walking distance of high-frequency public transport.

Do you need a Development Advisor or Town Planner for your next development? Call  (07) 3319 4933 and speak with one of our experienced planners today about the town planning requirements for retirement and aged care facilities in Brisbane or to assist you in due diligence assessments.

As development continues to grow in Queensland, it means more and more properties are being built in areas that are potentially susceptible to bushfire risk, particularly during the peak of bushfire season. Development on the urban/bushland fringe is continuing to expand, which is causing properties to more frequently encroach into bushland areas. Continue reading →

Dynamic Featured Image enables the option to have MULTIPLE featured images within a post or page. This is especially helpful when you use other plugins, post thumbnails or sliders that use featured images. Why limit yourself to only one featured image if you can do awesome stuffs with multiple featured image? DFI allows you to add several number of featured images to each post and page that can be collected by the various theme functions.

If you need to use multiple featured images or post thumbnails at any point then this plugin is exactly what you are looking for.

Dynamic Featured Image enables the option to have MULTIPLE featured images within a post or page. This is especially helpful when you use other plugins, post thumbnails or sliders that use featured images. Why limit yourself to only one featured image if you can do awesome stuffs with multiple featured image? DFI allows you to add several number of featured images to each post and page that can be collected by the various theme functions.

If you need to use multiple featured images or post thumbnails at any point then this plugin is exactly what you are looking for.Dynamic Featured Image enables the option to have MULTIPLE featured images within a post or page. This is especially helpful when you use other plugins, post thumbnails or sliders that use featured images. Why limit yourself to only one featured image if you can do awesome stuffs with multiple featured image? DFI allows you to add several number of featured images to each post and page that can be collected by the various theme functions.

If you need to use multiple featured images or post thumbnails at any point then this plugin is exactly what you are looking for.Dynamic Featured Image enables the option to have MULTIPLE featured images within a post or page. This is especially helpful when you use other plugins, post thumbnails or sliders that use featured images. Why limit yourself to only one featured image if you can do awesome stuffs with multiple featured image? DFI allows you to add several number of featured images to each post and page that can be collected by the various theme functions.

If you need to use multiple featured images or post thumbnails at any point then this plugin is exactly what you are looking for.