Demolition for a Townhouse or Dual-Occupancy Development in Bayside

A big share of the demolition work we do across Brighton, Brighton East, Hampton, Sandringham and Bentleigh is not for families building a new home. It is for developers and owner-builders replacing one house with two or three. Bayside blocks are large by inner-suburban standards, the land is valuable, and a single dwelling on a wide block is often the wrong use of it. Townhouses, side-by-side dual occupancies and small unit developments are how the suburb is changing, and every one of them starts with a demolition.

Development demolition has its own rhythm. The site is often being cleared for a builder with a program and a bank behind it, the planning permit dictates more than people expect, and small mistakes in sequencing cost weeks. This is a guide to doing it in the right order.

Do not demolish before the planning permit

The most expensive mistake on a development site is demolishing early. Under a heritage overlay, or where the planning permit for the townhouses includes conditions about the existing dwelling, demolition without the right approvals can breach the permit and, in the worst case, prompt the council to refuse or delay the development. Even without an overlay, a cleared block sitting vacant for a year while the application grinds through Bayside City Council is land earning nothing and costing holding interest.

The clean sequence is: planning permit for the development issued, then demolition consent and building permit for the demolition, then the demolition itself, timed to hand the site to the builder. Our permits and heritage approvals service handles the demolition side of that paperwork and can advise on how it interacts with the development permit.

Section 29A and the heritage question

Every demolition in Victoria needs report and consent under Section 29A of the Building Act from the council before the building surveyor issues the demolition permit. In Bayside that check is where heritage catches people. Brighton and Hampton in particular have individual heritage listings and precinct overlays, and a house that looks unremarkable can be covered. If it is, the demolition may only be permitted in part, or with conditions, and that shapes the whole development. Check before you buy the site, not after.

Staged and partial demolition

Some developments retain part of the existing house, typically the front section under a heritage requirement, with the townhouses built behind it. That becomes a partial demolition with protection of the retained structure, and it is planned very differently from a full clear. More commonly on Bayside dual-occupancy sites, the whole house, garage, pool and outbuildings go, and the question is whether the block is cleared in one hit or staged to suit the builder. Our partial demolition and strip-outs page covers the retained-structure scenario in more detail.

Services and abolishment

Development sites need the existing services abolished, not just disconnected, because the new dwellings will each get their own connections. Electricity abolishment through the distributor, gas abolishment, water and sewer disconnection at the point the water authority specifies, and telecommunications removal all have lead times that run to weeks. On a townhouse site there is also the question of where the new sewer and stormwater connections will go, which affects whether the old drains are removed or capped and where.

This is the part of a development demolition most often left too late. The abolishment applications should be lodged as soon as the demolition date is known, and ideally as soon as the planning permit is issued.

Trees, neighbours and the boundaries

Bayside has a strong tree protection local law, and townhouse developments push right out to the boundaries where the mature trees usually are. Trees to be retained under the planning permit need their protection zones fenced before any machine arrives, and the demolition method near them is adjusted so roots are not compacted or cut. Trees approved for removal are taken out as part of the site clear.

Because the new dwellings typically sit close to the side boundaries, demolition often happens within a metre or two of the neighbours' houses, garages and fences. Where the work could affect an adjoining property, a protection work notice under the Building Act may be required and the neighbour's building is protected during the works. Shared fences that come down are a conversation with the neighbour before, not after.

Asbestos and the older Bayside housing stock

The houses being replaced across Brighton East, Hampton and Bentleigh are frequently 1950s to 1970s brick veneers and weatherboards with asbestos in eaves, fibro linings, wet areas, sheds and fences. On a development site the asbestos is identified, removed under licence and documented before general demolition, and the clearance forms part of the site handover. Developers should budget for it as a line item rather than a contingency, because it is present on the majority of these sites.

The slab, the pool and what the builder wants

A townhouse builder wants a block that matches their site plan: existing slabs and footings removed if they clash with the new footprint, old pools removed and the void filled and compacted to an engineer's specification if a dwelling is going over it, and the site levelled or left at existing grade as specified. Ask the builder for their site requirements before the demolition is scoped, and give them to the demolition contractor. A block handed over in the wrong state means a second mobilisation.

Timing the handover

Most developers want the demolition finished a short time before the builder's site start, so the block is not sitting empty. We work back from the builder's date: abolishment lead times, the asbestos removal, the demolition and site clear, and the clearance and compaction certificates the builder will ask for. A full clear of a single Bayside house with a pool and garage is typically a matter of days on site once the services are gone; the weeks are in the approvals and abolishment before it.

Getting a development site quoted

For a development demolition we quote from the endorsed plans, a site visit and the builder's requirements, and the price is fixed for the defined scope. If you are looking at a Bayside site and want to understand the demolition cost and timing before you commit, send the address and any plans you have. We will tell you what is on the block, what the overlays mean for it, and what it will take to clear it.