Planning & Sustainability

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 comprising the public good.

Successful planning has regard to principles and objectives of equity, efficiency, environmental quality, community amenity and reasonably expected living standards. It also reflects sustainability objectives by incorporating performance criteria and frameworks based on 'triple bottom line' reporting – taking into account economic, social and environmental factors.

Strategic Planning

Strategic Planning in the Shire of Manjimup focuses on identifying aims and objectives for future optimum land use and development. The Shire's Local Planning Strategy, was endorsed by the WAPC on 19 December 2003. The Strategy provides an essential framework for planning decisions in the municipality over the next 8 - 10 years. It also establishes a strong foundation for Local Planning Scheme No. 4 gazetted in December 2010.

Statutory Planning

Local Planning Scheme No. 4 (LPS4) is a legally binding statutory document that enables the orderly and proper planning and regulation of land use and development throughout the Shire of Manjimup. It also details provisions and requirements in respect to the rezoning and subdivision of land and makes appropriate reference to Local Planning Policies, Structure Plan and Planning precincts that expand upon this. Copies of the current LPS 4 may be viewed at the Shire Offices, or downloaded from the related documents links below. Zoning maps can be viewed on the Western Australian Planning Commission's website (see External Links below).

For the latest information on Local Planning Scheme No. 4, see Related Documents below.

Applications for the Development and Use of Land

Planning applications are required to be submitted for most new development and change of land usage within the Shire (generally excluding bona fide rural or commercial uses in the appropriate zones). The most recent adopted fees and charges may be downloaded from the link below. Council considers these planning applications in light of the provisions and requirements of the LPS 4 State Planning Policy and any adopted Local Planning Policies that may be relevant, and then determines them accordingly.

The majority of planning approvals granted by Council are accompanied by appropriate, mostly standard, conditions. Such conditions of approval are imposed to ensure that the provisions and requirements of LPS 4 are properly met.

Is is important to note that a Building License is not the same as Planning Approval. A Building License is required to ensure that the buildings proposed meet the Building Code of Australia. A Planning Approval is required to ensure a development meets LPS 4. there fore in many cases, you will require both a Planning Approval for the proposed use and then a Building License.

Once a Planning Application is received by the Shire, it may require public advertising before a decision is made. This usually takes the form of letters to surrounding landowners informing them of the application and inviting comment within a fourteen (14) day period. More complex applications may require a longer consultation period and public notices in newspapers and / or a sign on the site.

Review of Planning Decisions

Any decision of Council to refuse to grant approval to a planning application will be accompanied by clear reasons and provides an automatic Right of Review to the State Administrative Tribunal (see External Links below for website). Should an applicant feel aggrieved by any decision made by Council (including any condition of approval that might be imposed) there is a 28-day period from the date of the actual planning decision in which an Application for Review may be lodged. If you are unsure of your responsibilities and obligations under LPS 4, or what statutory processes may be required to be undertaken in order to properly consider and determine any development proposal, please contact Planning and Sustainability Services.

LPS 4 also provides for an aggrieved applicant to request Council reconsider its decision as an alternative to an Application for review to the State Administravtive Tribunal.

Applications for Subdivision / Amalgamation

Applications for the subdivision / amalgamation of land should be directed to the WA Planning Commission (WAPC) in Bunbury on 9791 0577 or www.planning.wa.gov.au. Standard application forms are also available at the Shire's Customer Service Centre.

When an application for subdivision / amalgamation is lodged with the WAPC, it then formally refers the application to relevant governmental authorities, inviting comments and recommendations from those authorities within a statutory 42 day period. Council's role in such cases is to provide the WAPC with properly considered comments / recommendation(s) on the proposal put forward.

A determination is then made by the WAPC and the proposal either approved, with or without conditions, or refused. When a proposal is refused (or a disputed condition of approval is imposed), the applicant has a potential 28 days in which to request the WAPC to formally re-consider that unfavourable determination, or may otherwise appeal to the State AdministrativeTribunal (within twenty eight (28) days of the decision date of the WAPC).

Any approval handed down by the WAPC is valid for three (3) years (four (4) years for subdivisions with more than 5 lots), within which time all conditions of approval that may have been imposed by the WAPC must have been cleared (by the relevant governmental authorities that requested those conditions) and a Diagram of Survey lodged for Title(s). Failure to reach that stage within the statutory time period will mean a fresh application must then be submitted should the applicant wish to proceed.

Applications for Rezoning

In order to permit certain land use / development on a particular property, that property may first need to be rezoned. Changing a zone within the LPS 4 can be a complex and lengthy process involving the Council, the Department of Planning, the Western Australian Planning Commission, the Environmental Protection Authority and other servicing and governmental authorities.

A rezoning amendment proposal must first be initiated by Council and endorsed for any eventual gazettal by the Hon. Minister for Planning. Rezoning amendment proposals are initially assessed and categorized by the Shire's Planning and Sustainability Services as either "minor" (attracting an upfront fee deposit of $1,500) or "major" (requiring an up front fee deposit of $3,500) amendments and normally require a minimum of 12-24 months to process through the local and state government systems.

The application fee deposit is sourced throughout the various steps of the statutory process to finance public advertisement of the rezoning amendment proposal (required, under planning legislation, in a newspaper circulating in the local authority district, the West Australian and the Government Gazette) and the time expended on processing the Scheme amendment application by Planning Services (at a regulated scheduled hourly fee).

If an application is withdrawn or not supported by Council for advertising then, to the extent to which any fee calculated using the "Fee Calculation Table" is less than the deposit sum, the balance will be refunded. If the actual fee calculated using the "Fee Calculation Table" is greater than the deposit sum, the balance outstanding will be invoiced prior to gazettal.

The Town Planning Scheme amendment process can be further explained by contacting Planning Services.