With the advancement of education in town planning at university level and with greater emphasis on environmental aspects of land development it is advisable for most centres to seek approval from the local authority to function as a temple, monastery, nunnery or place of worship. Because monks and nuns are ‘strangers’ to one another (not family members) a building might have to be classified as a community dwelling. These days there is emphasis on providing access to disabled people.
When a new property is being purchased it is good to check with the local authority whether it has any objection for a temple project. The applicant needs to be clear about the nature of the project. At this stage it makes sense to ask for general advice from the specialists in QSA. With their qualifications and experience they can help you to re-define the project in the most suitable way both to fit the facts and to avoid huge future development costs.
If the project has the general support of the council then the next step is to come up with documentation to support the development application.
QSA has helped a few temples in development applications. There are planning companies who do all this work but the service could be costly. This is one of the most costly things a temple has to do. QSA can give valuable advice and sometimes direct help. Please see the contacts page of this website for the development planning panel of QSA.
In the past the following types of expertise was made available to institutions operated by monks or nuns with the help of householders:
Development strategies
Town planning Law
Engineering services
Environmental services
Legal
Report writing
Organisation of temple development services
Communication with city councils or shire councils
Relating to the people of the area
Before the establishment of QSA there was no one to help temples in regard to development applications. The result was that a lot of money got wasted and un-ending problems were created. Now help is available.