WilPlan: How Planna Helped Leigh Speed Up Approvals, Reduce Costs and Strengthen Client Confidence

Leigh Wilson is an experienced building designer working across residential, commercial, and small healthcare projects in regional Victoria. Although his design work was strong, the planning environment around him was becoming slower and more complex.

Regional councils were facing large workloads, planning reports were expensive and even simple applications often took more than twelve months to receive approval. These delays affected his clients, slowed down his projects, and pushed back key invoicing milestones. The administrative load was heavy. Preparing planning reports manually increased the risk of missing important requirements. Outsourcing them was costly and often stretched small and mid-sized projects beyond comfortable budgets. The pressure on profitability grew, and Leigh needed a smarter and more reliable way to manage planning compliance without slowing down the rest of his work.

He discovered Planna through social media and immediately recognised the value. The platform aligned site information with planning legislation, highlighted risks early, and provided fast turnarounds with review from qualified planners.

“Most planning applications are straightforward, and Planna makes them easy,” he explains.

From that point, Planna became part of his daily process.‍

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Transforming the Workflow

‍Once integrated into his workflow, Planna changed the pace of Leigh’s projects. Applications that previously took more than a year were now progressing in around three months for simple sites. This shift meant he could move projects forward sooner, reach invoice points earlier, and maintain momentum for his clients.

“I can get to that next invoice point. I am not waiting months like before,” he says.

The cost difference was significant. Reports that once cost thousands, and sometimes well over thirty thousand, became affordable and predictable. This made planning more accessible for clients and more profitable for Leigh. The reports also strengthened compliance. They covered requirements such as bushfire management, neighbourhood character, and heritage with clarity and accuracy.

Since adopting Planna, he has not had a single planning rejection. Support from real planners also played a key role. Whether managing a simple site or a more complex review, Leigh found the Planna team responsive and reliable.

“The support team is amazing, responsive, and reassuring,” he says.

With that confidence behind him, he began using Planna for every suitable project and now integrates it into his daily workflow.

‍Stronger Results for Projects and Clients

‍Before using Planna, delays, high costs, and compliance pressure limited the pace and profitability of Leigh’s work. Since adopting the platform, the improvements are clear and measurable. Planning time has dropped from more than twelve months to around three. Report costs have fallen by thousands. Compliance accuracy has increased, with no rejections to date. Clients experience faster outcomes and clearer documentation.

For Leigh, the benefits go beyond the practical. His stress levels have dropped, and he feels more in control of his workflow. Automated compliance checks and planner-reviewed reports reduce the mental load and free up time for design and project coordination.

With quicker approvals and earlier invoicing, cash flow is stronger, and his business can take on more opportunities with confidence.

“It has improved my quality of life and made me more profitable,” he explains.

‍About Leigh Wilson, Founder of WilPlan

‍Leigh Wilson is the founder of WilPlan and an experienced building designer based in regional Victoria. He works across residential, commercial, and small scale healthcare projects, offering practical design solutions that respond to local conditions and client needs. Leigh brings a clear and grounded approach to his work, shaped by years of experience designing for regional environments where planning requirements, landscapes and community expectations intersect. He focuses on creating functional spaces that support each client’s goals, while guiding them through the complexities of approvals and building processes with confidence and clarity.