Published on Friday, 1 March 2024 at 5:00:00 PM
The Shire of Lake Grace, in its Local Planning Scheme No. 4, formally adopts the Residential Design Codes of Western Australia (R-Codes) to guide its decisionmaking for approving or rejecting development applications (aka gaining Council approval, planning approval) around residential houses.
To address the pressures from the lack of housing, the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage (DPLH) has decided to relax the restrictions in the R-Codes around constructing ancillary housing (granny flats) through an amendment of the R-Codes. Currently this amendment is planned to be adopted on 10 April 2024, and a draft of the updated R-Codes will be released for public viewing on 8 March 2024.
After 10 April 2024, the Shire Council will start using the new version of the R-Codes with its relaxed restrictions on granny flats (amongst other changes) in its decisionmaking for development applications in Ordinary Council Meetings.
For more information, you may visit the the DPLH webpage in the following link.
External Link: DPLH - Amendments to Residential Design Codes (Medium Density Codes)
External Link: DPLH - Draft R-Codes Volume 1
The DPLH has also produced a brochure detailing the key changes to the restrictions for placing a granny flat on your lot, which can be found in the following link.
External Link: Planning Reform - Granny Flats Info Sheet
Please note that these changes only apply to the development approvals side of a building project; the building approvals side remains unchanged and a building permit is still required before constructions and earthworks can start.
If you would like any more information about the development approvals process or the building approvals process, please navigate to the relevant pages on our website.
Link: Shire of Lake Grace - Town Planning & Approvals
Link: Shire of Lake Grace - Building Services & Approvals
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