Alpine Shire Council will host their monthly Planner-in-Residence sessions from the first week of May, where community members in Myrtleford and Mount Beauty are invited to speak to a statutory planner about preliminary planning issues.
The Planner-in-Residence sessions form part of Alpine Shire Council's commitment to provide an accessible and equitable statutory planning service by providing in-person sessions outside of Bright and surrounds.
The 30-minute sessions will take place monthly at the Myrtleford and Mount Beauty libraries between 1pm and 4.30pm, with the sessions in Myrtleford taking place on the first Tuesday of the month and those in Mount Beauty taking place on the first Wednesday of the month.
Alpine Shire Mayor, Cr Sarah Nicholas, said that this monthly service builds on Council's commitment to improve statutory planning service delivery and customer experience.
"We congratulate our dedicated planning team as, over the past twelve months, we have seen a reduction in live planning applications due to greater availability of planning officers and a range of improvements staff have made," she said.
"For the first time in years, we now have a fully resourced statutory planning team, which means that we not only have greater continuity for the customer, but also have a strong base of local knowledge within the team."
Cr Nicholas also recognised that many of the enquiries received by the statutory planning team are complex and take time to investigate.
"As of March 2026, our team of statutory planners have 75 live applications, with 16 new applications received during the month," she said.
"It is important to acknowledge that, while we are committed to providing an efficient service, we are also committed to providing a thorough service based on sound decision making and technical expertise."
The upcoming bookings for May are as follows:
Myrtleford Library
- First Tuesday of the month
- Tuesday, 5 May 2026
- Between 1pm and 4.30pm
Mount Beauty Library
- First Wednesday of the month
- Wednesday, 6 May 2026
- Between 1pm and 4.30pm
Bookings can be made online via Council's website by visiting https://www.alpineshire.vic.gov.au/building-business/planning-services
Community members must make a booking in order to attend a session. Community members who arrive without a booking run the risk of not being able to speak to a statutory planner.
These sessions will provide preliminary planning advice only. Conversations cannot provide certainty regarding planning outcomes or advise on other matters outside of the remit of local government planning, including issues on Victorian Government or Crown land.
General queries can also be lodged with Council's planning team via the Greenlight portal on Council's website: https://alpine.greenlightopm.com/planning