About the practice

A more personal, senior way of working

We're a boutique consultancy built around experience, direct advice and local knowledge - professional enough for government tenders and major applications, still approachable and easy to deal with.

Our story

Planning advice, delivered direct

Western Sydney Planning is a boutique town planning consultancy providing strategic planning and development advice to the private and public sectors across New South Wales.

The practice was founded to offer extensive planning experience direct to clients across the Greater Sydney region and state-wide - without the layers of hand-off that come with a large firm. We work alongside our clients, councils and the community to achieve positive, commercially sound outcomes.

We help developers, landowners, legal teams and government navigate the planning system with clarity and confidence. Because every engagement is senior-led, you deal directly with the person doing the thinking - from first strategy conversation through to determination.

Hugh Halliwell, Principal, Western Sydney Planning
Founder

Hugh Halliwell

Principal town planner

Hugh founded Western Sydney Planning to bring senior planning expertise directly to clients - the person you brief is the person who does the work. His experience spans development applications, rezonings, due diligence and expert evidence across residential, commercial, industrial, government, retail and health projects throughout NSW.

The approach is straightforward: understand the commercial goal, read the controls closely, and set the smartest planning pathway from the start.

Work with Hugh 0403 270 108
What guides us

Three things we get right, every time

We know the system

Deep technical command of the NSW planning framework - credible enough for tenders, DAs and formal documents.

We know the commercial reality

Advice grounded in the money and the market behind every application, not just the controls.

We're straightforward

Senior, personal and direct. You deal with the person doing the thinking - no corporate distance.

Common questions

Good to know

A few of the questions we're asked most often. For anything specific to your site, just get in touch.

Ask us directly
Yes - from initial strategy and feasibility through to gateway determination and finalisation.
We work across Western Sydney and greater NSW, with deep local knowledge of the region's planning controls and decision-makers.
Absolutely. Pre-purchase due diligence is one of the smartest early moves - we tell you where you stand before you commit.
Every engagement is led by senior planners. You deal directly with the person doing the thinking, not a chain of hand-offs.