FAQs

A planning framework is a crucial document in shaping future planning and design. Planning frameworks define the vision and intent of an area and set out the ways this can be achieved. The framework is used to guide the preparation and assessment of planning proposals by both the local government and the State Government. 

The State Government developed a strategic plan for the metropolitan area in response to the projected growth in population to 3.5 million people by 2036. This growth is spread throughout Perth with Fitzgerald Street considered a District Centre.

The preparation of a planning framework is an opportunity to guide development and ensure that the Town Centre can grow in a sustainable way which reflects community values.

With development pressure increasing, a framework is being prepared by the City to ensure development is suitable and fits in with the existing context of North Perth. Without a plan, ad-hoc development will occur in North Perth, and planning decisions will continue to be made independently of each other.

A Place Plan will be developed at the same time. Together they will form one document which will guide development in both the private and public realms also providing guidance on the funding and implementation of the City's place-based initiatives. The Place Plan will also inform community benefits that could be sought through development incentives.

Policy No. 7.7.1 – Built Form guides development on private land and applies to all development within the City of Vincent.

The North Perth Place Plan guides improvements to the public realm. This Plan undergoes a minor review every year, and a major review every four years.

A comprehensive Context and Site Analysis was conducted in 2022. This study assessed the current context of the area and compared this to the future needs of the community at a local and state level to ensure the long-term success of the Town Centre. 

The Context Report was presented to the City's Design Review Panel and considerations for the consultation and preparation of a draft framework were discussed. Feedback from the Design Review Panel will inform each part of the project. 

We began consultation with the community in late 2022, holding two community workshops, an online survey, and drop-in session at the Kyilla Markets.

We have commenced a new round of consultation and are keen to hear your views on the future of the North Perth Town Centre.

A new round of consultation has begun. There are heaps of ways to get involved and share your ideas for the future of North Perth.

On this page you can complete online surveys, comment on our interactive map and register for upcoming workshops. Alternatively, you can email your ideas to mail@vincent.wa.gov.au  or call us on 9273 6000.

A visioning and values survey was conducted on Imagine Vincent from 18 November 2022 to 20 March 2023. The survey revealed:

North Perth was most loved for its:

• accessibility
• diversity
• community

Areas needing the most improvement in North Perth:

• pedestrian/cyclist safety
• greenery
• redevelopment/upgrades

Future North Perth Town Centre was envisaged to:

•  be community-focused
•  have a diversity of businesses    
•  be walkable

Workshop 1 sought to determine the community’s vision for North Perth with a particular focus on transport, the public realm and development. It was held on 5 December 2022. A report detailing the outcomes of this workshop was presented to the community revealing:

• a lack of consensus on an increase in density within the Town Centre;
• some community members felt that increased density was necessity to increase vibrancy and liveability, however there were differing opinions on where this should occur and at what height; and
• shared concerns over overshadowing, solar access, transition zones and heritage properties considerations in future development.

Workshop 2 was held on 23 February 2023. This was a collaborative design workshop facilitated by Fairplace which required participants to meet theoretical density targets using wooden blocks on a scale model of the North Perth Town Centre.

The activity was highly successful, presenting the issue of density and urban infill in a manner which could be easily demonstrated and understood. The Snapshot Report produced by Fairplace provided the following recommendations based on the workshop’s outcomes:

• Density should be distributed across the Town Centre.
• Taller developments should be located on lower and larger sites, taking advantage of the site’s topography.
• More intense development should be co-located with public realm and landscape amenity.
• Shopping streets should maintain a human-scale, using setbacks and height limits on areas such as Angove Street.
• Larger buildings should be located in areas where adjacent land uses are less sensitive to the impacts of overshadowing and scale.
• Larger buildings should consider natural advantages such as north facing developments.

This Framework will be tailored to the North Perth Town Centre and apply to the area extending along:  

• Fitzgerald Street between Menzies Street and Chelmsford Road; 
• Angove Street between Fitzgerald Street and Daphne Street; and 
• View Street between Fitzgerald Street and Olive Street.

Imagine Vincent was the biggest community engagement initiative in our history and informed the Strategic Community Plan 2018-2028. 

A major review was undertaken earlier this year with community letting us know the six priorities remain relevant for the future: Strategic Community Plan 2022 – 2032. 

The North Perth Town Centre Framework is a similar engagement, but instead of asking our community to create a vision for Vincent, we are asking them to create a vision for the future of North Perth.

We want to know how we can help North Perth to be a great place for everyone and deliver on the six priorities of Imagine Vincent. 

When thinking about what your future North Perth looks like, it might be useful to consider how it relates to those six priorities:

Enhanced Environment

The natural environment contributes greatly to our inner-city community. We want to protect and enhance it, making best use of our natural resources for the benefit of current and future generations.

Accessible City

We want to be a leader in making it safe, easy, environmentally friendly and enjoyable to get around Vincent.

Connected Community

We are a diverse, welcoming and engaged community. We want to celebrate what makes us unique and connect with those around us to enhance our quality of life.

Thriving Places

Our vibrant places and spaces are integral to our identity, economy and appeal. We want to create, enhance and promote great places and spaces for everyone to enjoy.

Sensitive Design

Design that ‘fits in’ to our neighbourhoods is important to us. We want to see unique, high-quality developments that respect our character and identity and respond to specific local circumstances.

Innovative and Accountable

The City of Vincent has a significant role to play in supporting our community to realise its vision. To achieve this, we will be an innovative, honest, engaged and responsible organisation that manages resources well, communicates effectively and takes our stewardship role seriously.

The proposed Planning Framework can include regulations to help address concerns about density and height. 

It will aim to strike a balance between accommodating growth and preserving our Town Centre's unique character and liveability. 

We're seeking your input on the characteristics you value to help inform this.

The Framework can include measures to ensure that any increases in density are thoughtfully managed to provide positive contributions to the Town Centre while maintaining the existing character and amenity of the surrounding area. This could include provisions for better urban design and sustainable design principles.   

Various levels of density can be used to refer to the building types and heights typically seen in those areas. The following examples are provided as a guide:  

Low-density is a suburban context characterised by low-scale buildings with generous space and back yards, typically accessed by private driveways.

Low-medium density is a suburban context with both single houses and grouped dwellings (two or more dwellings on the same lot which are grouped beside each other) which typically have shared spaces and driveways.

Medium-density housing is more urban residential areas where multiple dwellings can also be found. A multiple dwelling is a group of dwellings on the same lot which are on multiple level such as apartment houses and low-rise apartment buildings. Buildings with ground floor shops or offices can be found in these areas.

High-density generally refers to the larger, multiple-storey buildings found in more urban areas with close proximity to a range of services and day to day amenities. Mixed-use buildings with both residential and commercial or retail uses are common in these areas.

Sustainability will be a key principle of the Planning Framework. We're exploring innovative design and construction practices, energy-efficient technologies, and green building standards to minimise environmental impact and promote the development of healthier, comfier and more efficient buildings for our community.

The City recently launched Australia's first GreenTrack priority assessment service for residential development assessments. The service has been developed to encourage more people to construct energy and resource efficient homes with environmentally sustainable design principles. More information on this service can be found on the City's Environmentally Sustainable Design webpage.

It is clear from how other centres are evolving, previous workshops and site studies that the Town Centre is capable of accommodating more development. We can expect development opportunities to be taken up over time. Accommodating future growth while respecting the Town Centre's existing character remains a key objective of the Planning Framework.

No. This stage of consultation for is seeking input on community values and visions for the future of the North Perth Town Centre. This feedback, in addition to the context analysis and advice from the City's Design Review Panel will be used to help guide the drafting of the Planning Framework.

Detailed aspects such as building height limits have not yet been determined, however building height limits will be identified in the draft Planning Framework, which will be open to future community consultation (likely to take place in July/August 2024).

One of the purposes of the framework is to address concerns about loss of character through the development of design guidelines and zoning controls. These controls may guide the design of buildings through property setbacks, step-backs of floors, and height limits to ensure that new developments blend harmoniously with the existing built environment and respect the scale of the community.

We understand the importance of addressing the challenges and pressures facing the housing industry. 

The Planning Framework provides opportunities to influence housing supply and costs by promoting the development of diverse, adaptable housing options that respond the community's changing needs during their life. 

Planning controls can ensure a mix of dwelling sizes, number of bedrooms and tenures within developments. 

Opportunities also exist to identify specific ways for developers to deliver positive housing outcomes through developer contributions, supporting a diversity of incomes while also supporting property values through thoughtful design and community investment.

The WA State Government’s strategic plan, Perth and Peel @ 3.5 Million sets housing targets for the consolidation of development in the metropolitan area, providing guidance on where this growth should occur. This Strategy was developed in response to the projected growth in Perth’s population to 3.5 million people by 2036. 

Perth is now the fastest growing capital city in Australia, and the outer fringe suburbs such as Alkimos and Brabham remain the areas seeing the biggest growth. The urban sprawl in Perth comes at a significant environmental and financial cost. 

To address this, the Strategy sets targets for increasing housing developments in areas with existing transport, services and employment opportunities which are better placed to support this such as along transport corridors and within activity centres.

The Planning Framework can support the protection and retention of North Perth's heritage by implementation planning measures which encourage the retention of heritage buildings, promote adaptive re-use and responsive design solutions that reflect and enhance the existing character and heritage.

One opportunity is for new developments to enhance the area through community-responsible design. The framework can: 

• guide developers in designing buildings.
• guide the City's Urban Planners and Design Review Panel when assessing new proposals. 
• look at developer contributions through community benefits or financial contributions to the City to respond to community needs and values.

Minimising overshadowing and preserving sunlight access is often seen as an important factor in maintaining a high quality of life in densely developed areas. 

Carefully considered design guidelines and building setbacks are possible measures that can be implemented through the framework to minimise overshadowing and ensure adequate sunlight exposure for surrounding properties.

Residential transition zones are areas of land existing between higher-density multi-level buildings, such as those along Fitzgerald Street, and lower-density houses of established residential streets.

Transition zones act to provide a visual buffer between taller and bulkier mixed-use and commercial buildings and smaller-scale buildings such as single-story houses, physically smoothing out the scale and height of buildings.

They are useful tools in managing any potential negative impacts of adjacent land uses such as air pollutants, noise, dust and odour. The lower levels of activity found in our residential streets can also be protected from higher intensity areas of activity such as our Town Centres through the physical distance provided by transition zones.

The suitability of business types allowed within the transition zone requires careful consideration to ensure that the business does not have the potential to negatively impact adjacent properties, and that it is consistent with the character and objectives of the area. Think of the impact of a small bar or nightclub in a residential transition zone, compared to that of an office which operates during the day.

Businesses with a strong connection from their ground floor tenancies to the adjoining street can positively contribute to their surrounds, encouraging walkability and social interactivity, and enhancing the safety and security of public spaces.

The presence of compatible land uses in transition zones also play an important role in increasing economic activity, diversifying community services and facilities, and enhancing amenity.

Residential Design Codes, commonly referred to as 'R-Codes', provide comprehensive guidance to control the planning and design of residential developments such as how many houses are allowed on a block, how high a development can be, and if a block can be subdivided. They also provide design guidance to promote quality housing that makes positive contributions to local neighbourhoods.

The numbers codes which apply to different sites determine how many potential dwellings may be developed on that site. This is dependent on the size of the site, but generally speaking, the higher the number, the more dwellings that could be built.

Traffic flow and congestion are essential considerations in the planning process. Local traffic is only one part of the total traffic using the area. 

We're exploring strategies such as improved pedestrian-friendly design and smart traffic management solutions to manage traffic into the future. 

A traffic study is underway in North Perth and recommendations from the report will be used in the development of the draft Framework.