What does a 1/500 master plan package include?

Project owners taking on a logistics infrastructure project for the first time often ask two questions: what does a 1/500 master plan package include, and how long does it take? Here are the answers, based on how we organize the work.

Contents of the package

A detailed plan at 1/500 scale consists of an explanatory report and a set of drawings. The drawings usually include: a location and regional linkage diagram, an existing conditions map, a master plan land-use map, a landscape and architectural spatial organization diagram, a transport and red-line map, technical infrastructure planning maps (site grading and stormwater drainage, water supply, power supply, wastewater and environmental sanitation, telecommunications), a utility network composite map, and a strategic environmental assessment drawing.

The explanatory report sets out the planning basis, an assessment of existing conditions, land-use indicators, the spatial organization scheme, technical infrastructure solutions and the environmental assessment. It is accompanied by draft management regulations for the plan.

Input data required first

A new topographic survey map of the site is essential. In addition: legal documents on investment approval and land, the higher-level plans currently in force, regional infrastructure data (power and water sources, transport and drainage connection points), and, most importantly, the project owner's operating concept — expected throughput, cargo types and types of vehicles entering and leaving.

The operating concept may not sound like part of a master plan package, but it determines almost the entire site layout. For a logistics center, one zone planned for containerized cargo and another planned for bulk cargo produce two completely different schemes even on the same area.

Sequence and timeline

The usual sequence is: prepare and approve the planning brief, survey and prepare the plan, consult stakeholders, then appraisal and approval. For a 15 to 30 hectare site that already has a topographic map, preparing the plan alone usually takes about two to three months. Consultation, appraisal and approval times depend on the locality and are outside the consultant's control.

A note on the order of work

The site layout and operating flow should be fixed before the technical infrastructure drawings are developed in detail. Doing it the other way round — drawing in detail and only then reviewing the operating flow — is a common reason why most of a plan has to be redone.