Vineyard Resort - Mudgee
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In mid March 2006, Mr Les Smeaton (Almarto Pty Ltd) was referred to AcroPlan by Mr Doug Honeyman (Hunter Valley Conference & Event Co-ordinators - a division of Hunter Tourist Information). Mr Smeaton had a Development Application with Mid-Western Regional Council for a $35M Vineyard Resort comprising of 360 seat conference centre, 140 accommodation units, 150 seat restaurant, health centre, recreation facilities, and village shops, within a landscaped garden setting. The development was to occur over a 74 hectare site between Mudgee and Gulgong.
Despite the application having being prepared by a team of competent and experienced Sydney based consultants, the Council recommended that the developer engage the services of a town planning consultant with experience with vineyard resort development issues. This was due to the fact that there were a number of significant planning issues including zoning non-compliances, development standards, environmental sustainability, bushfire risk, impact on water resources, wastewater processing, impact on adjoining vineyards, and potential social and economic issues.
AcroPlan's principal consultant, Glenn Ziernik met with Council's senior staff to discuss the proposed development and determine the planning issues of concern to Council. AcroPlan then provided a plan of action to Mr Smeaton so that his objective of obtaining development consent for the Vineyard Resort could be realised. The plan of action included withdrawing the Development Application before Council; taking a co-ordination role with the existing architect, engineer, surveyor, and landscape designer; preparation and collation of a detailed Statement of Environmental Effects / Planning Report; liaison with Mid-Western Council, NSW Department of Planning, Rural Fire Service, Local Aboriginal Land Councils, Mudgee and Gulgong Chamber of Commerce, and Department of Land and Water.
AcroPlan worked closely with the consultant team for a period of 6 months. Meetings with the consultant team were held at Sydney on a weekly basis. Planning and technical meetings were also held at Mudgee and Gulgong. A detailed planning report describing the proposal was prepared for the client. The report included the individual reports prepared by the specialist consultant team. A new Development Application was lodged with Council on 20 Sep 2006. The development was assessed by Council and presented to a full Council meeting in October 2006.
The development was approved by Council on 10 November 2006. No amendments to the new design submitted to Council were required.
The team at AcroPlan are proud to have been associated with Mr Smeaton and his important project. The development represents a significant boost for the local Mudgee-Gulgong economy, and is the realisation of a major goal for Mr Smeaton.
Mr Smeaton has the following to say about his dealings with AcroPlan:
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"My first contact with Mr Glenn Ziernik came about after being recommended to him by Mr Doug Honeyman of the Hunter Tourist Information Service. Doug had seen some of AcroPlan's successful outcomes with a number of development projects in the Hunter Valley and suggested that they would be the right company to achieve a similar result for us in the Mudgee region.
After being appointed from the outset, the professional staff of AcroPlan communicated regularly in every aspect of the project. The project progressed to a successful conclusion and I would be very happy to recommend AcroPlan to any future client."