HoneyDale Retreat: Work Has Started on the Granny Flat

After months of work and the involvement of many consultants we obtained council approval and permits to start work. The process we went through included soil test consultants, bushfire consultants, energy efficiency consultants, civil engineers and designers. We also engaged a consultant to help us prepare the Development Application. The Council queried us about land clearing but we were able to respond without engaging another consultant as we were not planning to clear any land.

Apart from the paperwork we also had to remove all the rubbish from the Granny Flat pad. This required a lot of trips to the local tip.

We also needed to cut down and chip a large stand of lantana. The lantana was covering a large fallen tree. The tree was cut up and taken away, and the trunk yielded several fine slabs for milling to be used in the Granny Flat.

Part of the bushfire management procedure required that all ground litter within a 20 meter radius of the granny flat must also removed. There was a lot of dead wattle but the larger trees could remain.

Removing the rubbish, cutting out the weeds and clearing all the dead timber took many days of hard work. But it has been worth the effort as can be seen in the before and after photos.