Amendments to Heritage Local Planning Policies

The City is seeking comments until 5pm Friday 27 June 2025 on draft revisions to the following local planning policies:

• LPP 3.6: Heritage-Protected Places Built Form and Land Use
• LPP 1.7: Development Exempt from Approval Under LPS4
• LPP 1.6: Heritage Assessments and Procedures

A brief summary of the changes is below, with the full text available for download under the 'Key Documents' section to the right. Please note that the City is also currently proposing modifications to the South Fremantle Heritage Area and the properties therein as part of a separate consultation exercise. Please refer to the South Fremantle Heritage Area MySay page for further details.

LPP 3.6: Heritage-Protected Places Built Form and Land Use

The intent of the amendments is to make this policy the sole resource for development criterion on heritage properties within the City (with the exception of West End properties which will remain in their own separate policy). The current policy only includes guidance for properties in a heritage area and does not include provision for individual properties. The draft policy includes additional criteria for development and reflects the way City Officers currently assess heritage developments. A summary of the changes is as follows:

• Criteria now included for individual properties based on their level of significance and built form typology (ie: whether the built form is a house, a shop, or a warehouse/factory).
• Draft policy expands on how properties in a heritage area should be approached when assessing development and defines the original building exterior which should be preserved.
• The Hilton Heritage Area Local Planning Policy has been incorporated into the policy in a separate section, and the intent is that any future additions relating to specific heritage areas will also be appended to this policy.
• Reformatted and reordered to reflect the above changes.
• Current LPP 2.5: External Treatment of Buildings has been incorporated into the draft policy.
• All heritage fencing requirements have been removed from LPP 2.8: Fences Policy, with fencing requirements specified in the draft LPP 3.6.

LPP 1.7: Development Exempt from Approval Under LPS4

This draft policy reformats the existing policy to be consistent with the format of exemptions within Schedule 2 Regulation 61 of the Planning and Development (Local Planning Schemes) Regulations 2015. It updates exemptions to reflect the changes to be introduced as part of draft LPP 3.6 above including amendments to fencing exemptions and works which may affect the original building exterior as defined in draft LPP 3.6.

LPP 1.6: Heritage Assessments and Procedures

The draft policy updates the current policy with contemporary references and incorporates and updates the following policies:

• LPP 2.7: Archaeological Investigation as a Condition of Planning Approval Requirements
• LPP 2.20: Discretion to vary local planning scheme site or development requirements for heritage purposes

Policies Revoked

As a result of all of the above amendments, the following policies will be revoked, as they have been incorporated into the draft policies:

• LPP 2.5: External Treatment of Buildings
• LPP 3.7: “Hilton Garden Suburb Precinct” Heritage Area
• LPP 2.7: Archaeological Investigation as a Condition of Planning Approval Requirements
• LPP 2.20: Discretion to vary local planning scheme site or development requirements for heritage purposes

In addition, LPP 2.8: Fences Policy will be amended to remove all criteria for heritage properties and refer readers to LPP 3.6. As these changes are being advertised through LPP 3.6 above, the changes to LPP 2.8 are considered minor and do not require advertising.

For a full discussion of these changes, please refer to the Ordinary Council Meeting minutes of 14 May 2025.

The City recognises that the adoption of this policy may affect residents, developers and businesses within the community. This engagement process seeks to inform the public of this policy proposal and collect feedback from individuals, groups, and organisations for Council to consider before its final adoption.

Before the Council makes a final decision on the revised policies, we are asking the community to:

• Review the draft revised policies and Council report.
• Contribute feedback by completing the survey below or provide a written submission
• Request a 1:1 meeting with a City Officer if you'd like further info.

City Officers aim to:

• Keep you informed, listen to and acknowledge concerns and provide feedback on how public input influenced the decision.
• Work with you to ensure that your concerns and aspirations are duly noted, provide clarity on questions that may arise.

How can you meet with City Officers to discuss this policy and your feedback?

• 1:1 Meeting: Would you like to meet 1:1 with City Officers to get clarification on the policy, and how to best submit your feedback? You can request a meeting by emailing planning@fremantle.wa.gov.au. Please note, we'll aim to meet all requests subject to staff availability.

How can you make your submission?
Submissions can be submitted online via the submission form below, or:

• By Mail
  PO Box 807
  Fremantle WA 6959
• In Person
  Walyalup Civic Centre
  151 High Street
  Fremantle WA 6160
• By email - planning@fremantle.wa.gov.au
• Online via the submission form below

A hard copy of the survey can be sent or picked up upon request by emailing the Planning team here: planning@fremantle.wa.gov.au

Hard copies of the draft policy are also available at the Walyalup Civic Centre, 51 High Street, Fremantle between 8am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Comments close 5pm Friday 27 June 2025.