Wolter Consulting Group is excited to welcome Brad Jones and Michael Dargusch to our Planning team.
Brad has come on board as a Senior Associate and with over 16 years of experience in delivering high quality residential, commercial, industrial and mixed used developments, he will bring some wonderful insight to WCG.
Michael has taken on an Associate Town Planner position; he is highly experienced in private consultancy within South-East Queensland and is a perfect fit for WCG.
Both Brad and Michael bring a wealth of experience with them. While WCG is excited to utilise their skills; we are also eager to learn what has driven them to become so passionate and successful in town planning.
When asked why he decided to become a town planner, Michael said
“The profession offers a unique opportunity to influence the world in which my future and the future of my family and friends will unfold”.
Brad shares Michael’s passion to positively influence the urban environment and provide outcomes for clients that go beyond simply meeting town planning requirements.
Achieving outstanding results is by no means an easy task, Brad explains some of the biggest challenges facing the town planning industry today.
“The inherent limitations of the rules and regulations of the industry make it slow to adapt to ever changing lifestyles, market conditions and technology; for example autonomous vehicles and changes in affordable dwelling sizes. Driver-less cars are the next revolution which will be stymied by any planning system that cannot allow fast adaptation to change. Secondly, the cost of infrastructure for new development is a significant issue which needs more equitable cost-sharing arrangements,” said Brad.
Michael expressed similar views in regards to the limitations of regulations.
“At a seminar recently the statement was made that ‘town planners are writing themselves out of their own profession’. The ongoing challenge is to ensure that we do not enter a cycle where our ability to exercise informed judgement to achieve better outcomes is compromised by the lack of opportunity to do so,” said Michael.
While these challenges are significant, both of WCG’s new employees are excited for what the future holds.
“Our profession continues to value the ability for negotiation to bring about positive outcomes. For this reason I’m hopeful that the future challenges we face can be cooperatively resolved. I’m also excited by the quality of graduates we are seeing come out of our universities. The future is in good hands,” said Brad.
WCG is certainly excited for our future as we continue to grow our team with a unique group of highly qualified and skilled staff.