More councils require keeping architects for length of projects

"Conditional permits" require architects to be retained for a projects life.

LOCAL councils are increasingly using ''conditional permits'' on larger, more complex inner-city buildings that require developers to retain the architect for the life of the project.

Port Phillip, Darebin, Moreland and Yarra councils are leading the trend towards mandating architects' ongoing involvement in buildings they are originally commissioned to create.

A specific permit condition prescribing the ''ongoing involvement of the architect'' throughout the construction phase was first introduced by Yarra Council in 2008.

Since then the practice has spread across inner-urban areas.

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It has also become common overseas. Architects and local authorities in Britain use a ''Section 106 Agreement'' to impose financial penalties on projects that fail to employ an architect for the length of a project.

A spokeswoman for Yarra Council said no figures were available on the number of permits issued with that specific condition, but they were in place on most large projects.

''The intended purpose is to maintain the integrity of the project for the duration of the development,'' the spokeswoman said.

Melbourne architecture firm Rothelowman has been involved with four projects where it is the stipulated architect on the planning permit. They include developer Hamton's 600-apartment Haven and Eden development under construction in Victoria Street, Abbotsford.

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More councils require keeping architects for length of projects