Planning For Student Accommodation In Whitehorse

You are requires to research issues associated with various aspects of ‘planning’ associated with property development. Planning can take numerous forms so think broadly when you consider the topic. Use the eBooks which are accessible through the USQ library website to easily explore this topic, and read widely before starting your assignment.

The Importance of Student Accommodation

The students in the City of Whitehorse who enroll in the Box Hill Institute of TAFE and the Deakin University look for variety of accommodation as per their individual needs. There can be various forms of accommodation ranging from the modified buildings to the purpose-built accommodation facilities (Coles, Dinan and Warren, 2015). It is important to build more number of student accommodations, which includes both purpose built accommodation and modified accommodation. This report aims to focus on the planning aspect of the development of student accommodation in Whitehorse region. It is important to focus on the planning aspect of a new property development so that there is smooth functioning of the project (Coles, Dinan and Warren, 2015). This report would analyze the background of the project along with the goals of the project sponsors. The main focus would be on the planning of the project, which would focus on the planning issues, considerations and others.

The student accommodation market is affected by the international exchange rates and government policies, which is considerably different from the traditional housing forms (Coles, Dinan and Warren, 2015). There are various location factors that need to be undertaken for the successful completion of this project such as access to public transport, walking from concerned institution and others (Kerzner, 2013). At the time of project commencement, there is vacant land in which the new student accommodations would be constructed. The locations in and around the University would be considered for the purpose of selection of plot (Coles, Dinan and Warren, 2015). The completed project would be apartment homes which would be mainly student townhouses, shared housing and home stays. The primary objectives of the project sponsors are to gain financial benefits and give sufficient opportunities for the students so that they can have an affordable stay during the tenure of their academic life.

The process of planning is important for any property development. It is important to perform reality check for the actual project, which should be done before the commencement of the project (Coles, Dinan and Warren, 2015). The planning process would make the concerned persons aware of the different pitfalls that might be encountered during the project construction phase (Fullan, 2014). It is also important to manage the different kinds of resources required for the successful completion of the project. It is also important to manage the human resources who would be directly or indirectly related with the study accommodation project. The design considerations of the student accommodation types are dependent on various factors. It is important to plan the location of the accommodation project. It should be located on a walking distance from the related institution, which should not be more than 500 meters (Coles, Dinan and Warren, 2015). The location should have good access to the public transport which can be used by the students when they require commuting. The location should be located in an active as well as vibrant environment, which can be the Neighborhood Centers (Machairas, Tsangrassoulis and Axarli, 2014). It is also important to keep the rates of the accommodation housing reasonable so that the students can avail them easily. There are certain design parameters which can be incorporated during the construction, which would enable the owner to give them in reasonable cost (Machairas, Tsangrassoulis and Axarli, 2014). There can be minimization of the office space, common areas and reduced area for parking cars, which would enable the developers to reduce the boarding costs or rent costs. The design considerations should address the various crucial aspects such as residential interfaces, student livability and appropriate living arrangements. It is important to consider the growing needs of the students and build the study accommodation accordingly (Machairas, Tsangrassoulis and Axarli, 2014). There are different requirements of the students belonging to different cultural backgrounds such as specifications of rooms. These should be considered by the developers so that the study accommodation appeals to the prospective students.

Location Factors to consider

There are different planning considerations which should be taken into account while doing the planning for study accommodation (Machairas, Tsangrassoulis and Axarli, 2014). It should take into consideration several important factors in the development of the study accommodation such as urban planning, community planning, financial planning, social planning, economic planning, traffic planning and environmental planning (Phillips and Pittman, 2014).

The urban planning is concerned with the technical process which is concerned with the use of the land, different planning permission, public welfare, use of the environment and the exploitation of the urban environment (Levy, 2015). It is important that the project team takes land permission and adhere to the Whitehorse Planning Scheme. There should be reference to the Municipal Strategic Statement (MSS) as well as Local Planning Policies for gaining the provision of housing as well as development. The local planning policies of the municipality should be taken in consideration (Blakely and Leigh, 2013). These include a wide range of the housing types so that the changing requirements of the customers can be determined. It is important to identify various housing areas which are suitable for natural, substantial and minimal change (Machairas, Tsangrassoulis and Axarli, 2014). It is important to use the economic as well as population based growth projections so that efficient allocations of the resources can be done. It is also important to anticipate the infrastructure as well as public service needs.

The community planning affects the level of planning of the study accommodation (Green and Haines, 2015). The aspect of community planning affects the neighborhood planning as diverse community members can contribute towards the project. These includes that the formulation of project goals, resource identification, funds allocation, project implementations and others (Machairas, Tsangrassoulis and Axarli, 2014).

The environmental planning should be done so that the surrounding environment of the project can be saved from potential damage of the project (Faludi, 2013). The surrounding environment and the larger community should be protected and sustainable communities should be created which would aim to protect as well as conserve underdeveloped land.

The financial planning affects the development of the study accommodation project (Alviniussen and Jankensgard, 2015). The planning of the funds requirements and their subsequent allocation would determine the type of study accommodation (Alviniussen and Jankensgard, 2015). If there is adequate amount of funds allocated, then there would be good quality of the buildings. It is important to determine the different project costs such as materials, labor, equipment and administration costs.

The Planning Process of Property Development

There are different aspects of the planning process which help the project to be successful (Alviniussen and Jankensgard, 2015). This property development plan should comprise of different aspects such as activities, scope, schedule, quality assurance, risk analysis and others. Planning is definitely good for the property development projects and it provides positive guidelines (Alviniussen and Jankensgard, 2015). The property development document includes the scope of the project, which helps in the smooth functioning of the project (Schwalbe, 2015). It shows the dependencies between the various tasks of the project and handles the risks of the project in an effective manner. There is comprehensive resource loading as well as realistic level of effort from the project team, which makes it easier to achieve the project objectives (Alviniussen and Jankensgard, 2015). The project team is made aware of the subsequent risks that would come in the process of property development. The project plan would also allow time for understanding as well as mitigating the possible risks.

A communication plan is included in the planning process, which provides a summary of the tasks, goals, schedule as well as performance information with the important stakeholders (Lipman and Ashlock, 2015). The planning process includes the qualitative assessment of the different deliverables which are directly related with the project requirements. The planning documents also help the team leaders, developers and the different users to understand the project in a better manner and also determine their role in the project development phase. If the different aspects of the property development are not illustrated to the stakeholders, then it is difficult to gain their full support in the project. It is also important to make sure that the property development plan is related to the broader project objectives and the size of the particular project (Alviniussen and Jankensgard, 2015).

There is different planning consideration which needs to be undertaken for achieving the completion of the study accommodation (Alviniussen and Jankensgard, 2015). There are certain things on which the building regulations approval is required such as replacement of the windows/doors on damage, electrical installations, loft conversions, construction of attached garage and others (Gwynne, 2013). The lack of the planning permissions as well as building regulations approval would cause issues in the later stages of the property development. The process of environment planning, community planning, urban planning, social planning and others would help in the smooth coordination of the project (Alviniussen and Jankensgard, 2015).

Design Considerations for Student Accommodation

The planning considerations of the property development project have a great impact on the final solution of the development proposal. The planning process follows a series of steps, which helps in the delivery of excellent accommodation homes (Oakland, 2014). The first step of the planning process assesses the need and the capability of the project. In this project, there is need of increasing the student accommodation facilities, especially the “Purpose built” ones. In the City of Whitehorse, there are expensive student accommodation, hence it is important to develop affordable housing options. The next step is to develop the project planning team. This also involves the allocation of job responsibilities to suitable persons, which would help in the successful delivery of the project (Alviniussen and Jankensgard, 2015). It is also important to lay down the goals as well as objectives of the project in a precise manner and communicate the same to all the major stakeholders (Austin and Pinkleton, 2015). The next step involves the development of a logic model or design blueprint of the student accommodation project. It is also important to select as well as categorize the primary and secondary audience. The audience in this particular project are the students belonging to universities such as Box Hill Institute of TAFE and the Deakin University. It is important to understand the requirements of the students, which needs to be incorporated into the planning considerations (Alviniussen and Jankensgard, 2015). For example, if there is requirement of kitchen in the accommodation, then the same should be made available either attached to the rooms or centralized kitchen should be made available to all the students residing at the accommodation facility.

The planning process also helps in ensuring that the assembling of the various resources, materials and other capabilities take place in the right time (Austin and Pinkleton, 2015). This would also ensure the successful completion of the project. The planning consideration should also include essential amenities such as fire extinguisher and compulsory fire exit, in the event of fire. The planning part of the project should also include promotional plan of the new property so that the students are aware of the same (Austin and Pinkleton, 2015). Thus, it can be concluded that the planning considerations have a positive impact on the final solution of the development proposal.

The planning consideration of the new property development does not take place alone. It works in close collaboration with the other development considerations in the close vicinity such as environment, topography, aesthetics, amenity, lifestyle and others (MacLaran, 2014). It is important to understand the slope and elevation of the land where the student accommodation would be built. It is important to understand the topography since it would help in reducing the construction costs, minimization of risks from natural hazards and the various impact of the property development on the various natural vegetation such as vegetation, soils and water systems (Austin and Pinkleton, 2015). It is also important to undertake property development program by taking into account the conservation of the natural environment in and around the construction site.

Different Planning Considerations to Undertake

The lifestyle of the students should also be taken into consideration while constructing the property site. There should be provision of ramps in the building for the disabled students. It is important to make available the basic amenities to the students so that they would be inclined to choose the particular accommodation facility (Austin and Pinkleton, 2015). This may include availability of drinking water, clean toilets and insect free internal environment. The planning consideration of the property should include these additional design considerations too.

Conclusion 

The property development of student housing accommodation needs to be planned carefully as it would help in giving attractive facilities to the students who look for having affordable lodging options in and around their university. This report identified the significance of the planning process on the development of property. The different design considerations, location preferences and others are discussed. The impact of the planning issues on the development of the property is defined. The concluding part has discussed about the importance of planning and the conjunction of the planning consideration with other related design consideration.

The property development of student facility should be based on the market survey done on the students. This would give the developers a fair idea of the things they should include in the project. It is also important to prepare project schedule with deadlines of project completion. This would ensure that the project gets completed within the mentioned timeline.

References

Alviniussen, A. and Jankensgard, H., 2015. Enterprise risk budgeting: bringing risk management into the financial planning process.

Austin, E.W. and Pinkleton, B.E., 2015. Strategic Public Relations Management: Planning and Managing Effective Communication Campaigns (Vol. 10). Routledge.

Blakely, E.J. and Leigh, N.G., 2013. Planning local economic development. Sage.

Coles, T., Dinan, C. and Warren, N., 2015. Climate change mitigation and the age of tourism accommodation buildings: a UK perspective. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 23(6), pp.900-921.

Faludi, A., 2013. A decision-centred view of environmental planning (Vol. 38). Elsevier.

Fullan, M., 2014. Leading in a culture of change personal action guide and workbook. John Wiley & Sons.

Green, G.P. and Haines, A., 2015. Asset building & community development. Sage publications.

Gwynne, A., 2013. Guide to building control. John Wiley & Sons.

Kerzner, H., 2013. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.

Levy, J.M., 2015. Contemporary urban planning. Routledge.

Lipman, B. and Ashlock, M.Z., 2015. Engineering and Implementing an Executive-Level Communication Plan in a Global Professional Environment: A Case Study. Journal of Media Critiques [JMC], 1(2).

Machairas, V., Tsangrassoulis, A. and Axarli, K., 2014. Algorithms for optimization of building design: A review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 31, pp.101-112.

MacLaran, A., 2014. Making space: property development and urban planning. Routledge.

Oakland, J.S., 2014. Total quality management and operational excellence: text with cases. Routledge.

Phillips, R. and Pittman, R., 2014. An introduction to community development. Routledge.

Schwalbe, K., 2015. Information technology project management. Cengage Learning.