The City of South Perth will be hosting an information session regarding the proposed changes to Amendment 46. ‘South Perth Station Precinct’ on Thursday 3 December 2015. 

The original purpose of Amendment No. 46 to the City’s Town Planning Scheme No. 6 was to rectify anomalies, clarify ambiguities and strengthen performance criteria for building height variations. These all related to development provisions affecting the area known as the ‘South Perth Station Precinct’. 

The City first advertised Amendment No. 46 for public comment in March 2015. On 27 October 2015, a  Special Council Meeting was convened where Council considered submissions received during that consultation period, and in response to community concerns endorsed a set of significant modifications to Amendment No. 46.

The modifications include:
• Reduction in the extent of the Special Design Area
◦ Removal of the ‘Special Design Area’ designation from the following Mill Point Road Properties:
▪ East side: between Ferry St and Frasers Ln; and
▪ West side: between Judd St and Scott St.
• Creation of absolute height limits
◦ In the current ‘Special Design Area’, there is no upper height limit where all required performance criteria area met. Under the modified provisions, it is proposed that building height would be constrained to no more than 100% above the applicable basic height limit.

• Maximum 10% variation from minimum lot area and frontage 
◦ Under the current provisions, building height variations are permissible on ‘under-sized’ lots if the Council is satisfied that the shortfall in area and frontage is minor. The proposed modified provisions will restrict the shortfall in area and frontage to not more than 10%.
• Increased street setbacks in certain streets
◦ Under the current provisions, proposed buildings are required to be set back not less than 4 metres from the front boundary in a number of areas. Under the proposed modifications, this requirement will be extended to cover a larger number of areas.

• Mandatory 1.5 minimum non-residential plot ratio
◦ Any development in the ‘Scott-Richardson’ and ‘Mends’ sub-Precincts must have a non-residential component with a 1.5 minimum plot ratio, compared to the previous 1.0 minimum. 

As a result of these significant changes, the Council resolved to open Amendment No. 46 for public comment until 5pm, Friday 5 February 2016.

Mayor Sue Doherty said, “Council and the community are concerned about substantial changes to the character of the South Perth Station Precinct brought about by Scheme Amendment No. 25 by the recent approval of some very large high rise developments.”

“The Council is now seeking the community’s views on the changes proposed in this second version of Amendment No. 46, which seeks to limit the heights and scale of the development and aims to address uncertainty within the community and elected members alike on the extent of developments permitted under the Scheme.”

The Council or the Development Assessment Panel must have due regard to this Scheme Amendment when determining current and future applications for planning approval.
The modified text of Amendment No. 46 is available for viewing on the City’s website, or printed copies are on display at the City of South Perth Civic Centre and City libraries.

You are encouraged to examine the proposed text modifications and lodge a written submission providing your comments at yoursay.southperth.wa.gov.au or via writing to the City.

To find out more about the proposed modifications, you are encouraged to attend the City’s Information Session: