Planning

Town Planning is about people and the community, and aims to maintain and improve our quality of life. Council takes a great deal of care in planning our community with the aim of creating a high quality urban and rural environment.

Shire of Jerramungup Planning Services

Council has a Planning Officer based at the Bremer Bay Community Resource Center available to help with any planning or development enquiries. You are encouraged to contact the Shire’s Planning Officer early in the development of your proposal to ensure that you are aware of the Shire’s requirements when planning your new development. Early advice can save you considerable time and money when preparing your plans and applications.

Role of Planning

Planning aims to guide the proper and orderly use and development of land within the Shire in a way that serves private needs without compromising the public good. Town planning coordinates land use and development by balancing economic, social and environment issues. Planning policies, schemes and other statutory processes guide decisions that shape and focus on a satisfactory quality of life for people living in communities. There are two key components of town planning:

• Strategic Planning focuses on the big picture or long-term planning throughout Western Australia. It integrates a wide range of economic, social, environmental and infrastructure issues.
• Statutory Planning or Development Control is the legal and approval arm of planning. Legislation and regulations ensure appropriate land use and development controls exist to effectively manage the process of land use, land supply and development.

An overview of the Western Australian planning system can be found on the WAPC website to help people find their way around what can be a complex system. This overview is useful to people who are interested in how the Western Australian planning system works - it describes the various roles, responsibilities and functions of the key players actively involved in the planning system.

Strategic Planning

At a state-wide level, the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC) is responsible for the State Planning Strategy, which aims to coordinate and promote regional land use planning and development in Western Australia. The State Planning Strategy was completed in 1997.

At the local government level, Council and the WAPC adopted a Local Planning Strategy (the Strategy) in December 2012 to guide the future development of the entire Shire area.  

The Strategy sets out the long-term planning direction for the Shire of Jerramungup, applies state and regional policies, and provides the rationale for the zones and other provisions of the Scheme.  The Strategy is to be read in conjunction with Local Planning Scheme No 2.

Shire of Jerramungup Local Planning Strategy

The underlying objective for the Local Planning Strategy (the Strategy) is to provide for existing and anticipated land uses, to enable new land requirements to be appropriately accommodated as they arise, and to ensure that natural resources are protected and managed for the present and future needs of the community.

Please click on the following link to our Forms, Fees & Links page, scrolling down to the Shire of Jerramungup Planning Documents section you will find links to reveiw a copy of the Local Planning Strategy.

For more information on the revised Strategy please contact the Shire’s Planning Officer.

The Strategy provides general guidance to land use planning in the Shire as well specific recommendations and a copy can be found at the attached link Local Planning Strategy.

Development Control

All land in the Shire of Jerramungup is subject to Local Planning Scheme controls; all development and change of use requires Planning Approval.  So if you are considering constructing a building or intend using land for a purpose different to its current use, please contact the Shire’s Planning Officer first. A planning approval may needed to be obtained before taking any further action.

Local Planning Scheme No 2

Development within the Shire of Jerramungup is administered through the Local Planning Scheme (the Scheme) and Local Planning Strategy. The Shire of Jerramungup’s Local Planning Scheme No 2 was gazetted on 12 January 2007.

The Scheme consists of the Scheme Text and Scheme Maps. It divides the Shire into zones to identify areas for particular uses and identifies land reserved for public purpose. Most importantly, the Scheme controls the types of uses and development allowed in different zones. The Scheme also sets out the requirements for planning approval, enforcement of the Scheme provisions and non-conforming uses and provides the framework for the adoption of Local Planning Policies.

Residential Design Codes of WA

The Residential Design Codes of WA (the R-Codes) are a State Planning Policy adopted under the Scheme, and are used to guide and control residential development throughout the State. The R-Codes have the following objectives:

• To provide for a full range of housing types and densities that meet the needs of all people;
• To provide for local variations in neighbourhood character;
• To ensure appropriate standards of amenity for all dwellings;
• To ensure provision of on-site facilities for all dwellings;
• To protect the amenity of adjoining residential properties;
• To encourage the conservation of properties with heritage value; and
• To encourage environmentally sensitive design.

In the Shire of Jerramungup there are a number of “regional exceptions” to the R-Codes that have been addressed through the adoption of Local Planning Policies.

Heritage

The Shire of Jerramungup Municipal Inventory of Heritage Places provides information relating to places of heritage value and is a record of the history of the Shire and the places that reflect the story of the district. In particular this register identifies the places of local heritage value throughout the Shire.

The state government body, the Heritage Council of WA, has identified two places within the Shire as being of State significance:

• Quaalup Homestead Group in the Fitzgerald River National Park; and
• Wellsteads’ Homestead Group on Wellstead Road, Point Henry Peninsular.

Details of these places can be found on the State Heritage register at http://register.heritage.wa.gov.au/.

Any development of, or adjacent to, an identified heritage place - of either State or Local significance - may require planning approval, and you are encouraged to contact the Shire Planning Officer to discuss your proposal.