Stephen Scott’s application with Playford Council for detached home caught up in red tape

A man is at an impasse with the City of Playford after applying to house his sick in-laws on his own property.

Son-in-law Stephen Scott and Brenda McIver at her vanhome in Angle Vale SA. Picture: Ben Clark

An Angle Vale resident has been waiting nearly four months for council approval to install a detached home on his property for his elderly mother-in-law – as she recovers from major surgery.

But on the eve of the surgery, Stephen Scott is still at an impasse with the City of Playford.

Mr Scott said he started planning the relocation of his parents-in-law John and Brenda McIver, who are aged in their 80s, from their home in Paralowie to Angle Vale last September.

“We put in for planning approval for a granny flat back in September and we came across what they call ‘VanHomes’,” he said.

“It was going to be the cheapest and easiest solution.

“It’s a caravan that expands out, the floor drops down, the roof goes up – it just doubles in size from three-foot wide to six-foot wide.

John and Brenda McIver at their vanhome in Angle Vale. Picture: Ben Clark

“It’s a one-bedroom unit with a shower and toilet and a little living space and a kitchenette, just like any granny flat.”

Although rules around the use of caravans come under state government legislation – specifically the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act – local councils are responsible for enforcing them.

The application, which cost Mr Scott $300 to lodge, is still caught up in red tape with the council.

Mr Scott said he wanted to do the right thing and get approval for the structure.

“We wrote to the council, they came back with our planning approval and then they said they want building approval and put me onto PBS Certifiers to get the building consent,” he said.

“PBS Certifiers looked into it and said, because we didn’t build anything, it doesn’t need a building certificate.

“And that’s created an anomaly with the council – they’re not happy with that, so now the application’s just sitting there pending.

“We need to get the development approval before we can go ahead with it.”

Stephen Scott’s application is still pending as his mother-in-law’s surgery looms closer. Picture: Stephen Scott

John and Brenda McIver of Paralowie want to move to the van home in Angle Vale. Picture: Ben Clark

Mr Scott said his mother-in-law was going into hospital on Monday for surgery.

“My mother-in-law has had diabetic ulcers and poor blood-flow because she’s in a wheelchair, she’s immobile,” he said.

“Her toe has died and needs to be amputated, we’re hoping they won’t have to amputate the whole foot.”

Mr Scott, a storeman, said he and his wife, a catering attendant at Lyell McEwin Hospital, are already carers for the elderly couple.

Since suffering a stroke, Ms Scott’s 83-year-old father has been unable to care for his wheel-chair-bound wife.

Mr Scott said he initially looked into getting a granny flat for about $250,000 with a wait time of about 18 months.

Instead, he said he paid about $120k for a VanHome to be built within 12 weeks and have it delivered from New South Wales, even registering it as a vehicle to be on the road between states.

The van home is half the price of a granny flat and can be built within 12 weeks. Picture: Ben Clark

Housing and Urban Development minister Nick Champion said long-term recreational vehicle parking on private residential land required council development approval.

“Without development approval needing to be obtained, there would be no mechanism to ensure that the caravans are safe, habitable, and appropriately connected to necessary services such as water and wastewater.”

A City of Playford spokeswoman said the council was committed to working with residents to navigate state legislation and help them find solutions.