Eco resort on 'Rural' residential land

Hello,

I'm considering buying a rural residential land in Australia with a home already built on it. Slowly, I plan to convert it into an eco resort by adding more structures. How easy is it to obtain council approval for the same? Do I need to change the type from 'rural' to 'residential' or 'commerical' for doing so?

 

I'm not sure what you mean by "eco resort", but I suspect its a vastly different zoning use than the existing rural residential.

You probably either need to do a lot of planning reading research, or seek expert planning help for whatever you're considering.

 

Eco resort means a hotel/motel based country land with lots of land and is used for holiday purpose.

 

Uh. You will need to be careful and read all the details of planning documents. Otherwise you might end up with land the requires a large outlay to meet the zoning requirements. I doubt you can just put a small BNB on it and call it an eco hotel.

 

@Noobieboy Thanks for your reply. However, can you please elaborate?

 

As @thatbum mentioned. If I was buying land that has any specifics attached to it, I will need to carefully understand the zoning requirements. In this instance I am required to follow the development and zoning conditions of the land. I cannot buy land and build whatever I like on it.

Might be worth looking into what conditions and zoning requirements are attached to the land in question.

 

Rural zoning provisions vary from place to place (States and municipalities). If you find a property that suits your anticipated requirements (and before you sign anything) you will need to assess the zoning. Determine whether "accommodation" can be permitted - in many rural areas it will not be, especially if the intent is to protect productive farm land. You will then need to assess the likelihood of obtaining a permit for "accommodation" in the future. Hope that helps

 

Thanks, makes sense. However, to what extent the activity needs to be commercial for me to actually determine the need of accessibility?

Say for eg. I have am buying a 3 bed room home. As and when need be, I 'airbnb' 2 of the rooms in the home. Does this require permission?

Also, considering I want to build additional villas in the future, would you suggest getting a permit from the council before even signing the contract?

 

What people are advising is that you speak with a town planner who can quickly review the LEP & zoning for the permissible use.

If more than one dwelling, short stay accommodation, tourist accommodation etc is a permitted use, then it may be worth considering.