Claremont Draftsman for Town of Claremont Plans and Council Approval
The Town of Claremont has proposed a rule that breaks the usual logic of residential approvals. Under draft Local Planning Policy 211, a single house that fully complies with the R-Codes will still need development approval if the work affects a regulated tree.
Compliance normally means no planning application. In Claremont, a mature tree can override that on its own. This page explains how the tree rules work, what counts as a regulated tree, and what else governs building here.
What a Claremont draftsman or Claremont drafter does for you
Claremont is a small, established, high value western suburbs council with mature tree cover and significant heritage stock. The constraints are rarely about density.
For a Town of Claremont project that means:
- Identifying any regulated trees on the lot before design, because they can drive both the siting and the approval pathway
- Checking whether the property is on the Heritage List, which removes the standard exemption
- Testing the design against Local Planning Scheme No. 3, the R-Codes deemed-to-comply provisions and the Town’s local planning policies
- Checking Local Planning Policy 124 Heritage where the property is listed or in a heritage area
- Preparing documentation to the Town’s residential development application checklist
We draw architectural and planning documentation. We do not produce structural engineering drawings, electrical design, or arborist reports, which must come from a qualified arborist.
What “Claremont council approval” actually means
People use “council approval” to cover two or three separate things. They are assessed by different people under different legislation.
A building permit. The construction approval under the Building Act 2011, covering structural adequacy, fire separation, energy efficiency and compliance with the National Construction Code. You will almost always need this one.
Development approval, also called planning approval or a DA. The planning assessment against the R-Codes, Local Planning Scheme No. 3 and the Town’s local planning policies.
Under clause 61 of the deemed provisions, the construction of a new single house, or extensions and renovations to an existing single house, are exempt from development approval where they meet the deemed-to-comply criteria of R-Codes Volume 1, or any local planning policy that amends or replaces those criteria, along with the Scheme, local planning policy and local law requirements.
Two things remove that exemption in Claremont. The property being on a Heritage List, and, under the draft tree policy, work affecting a regulated tree.
A deemed-to-comply check. Several WA councils run a formal written check confirming development approval is not required, which is what a building surveyor relies on before issuing a certificate of design compliance. The Town of Victoria Park charges $73, and the Town of Cambridge charges $295 for a new single house or $100 for additions with a 14 day response. Ask early whether the council runs one and whether your surveyor will want it.
Being exempt from development approval does not exempt you from a building permit.
Tree retention in the Town of Claremont
Please note: Local Planning Policy 211 was in draft and out for public consultation at the time of writing. Confirm its current status with the Town before relying on it, because the detail may have changed on adoption.
The Town resolved in February 2025 to investigate retention of trees on private property, drawing on the WALGA Model Local Planning Policy for Tree Retention released in 2024. Draft LPP 211 is the result, responding to measured canopy decline across metropolitan Perth, most of which sits on private land.
What counts as a regulated tree
The draft policy defines a regulated tree as a living tree that:
- Is 8 metres or more high, and/or
- Has an average canopy diameter of at least 6 metres, and/or
- Has a trunk circumference of at least 1.5 metres, measured 1.4 metres above the ground, and
- Is of a species not included on a State or local weed register
Note the thresholds are alternatives, not cumulative. Meeting any one of the first three is enough. On an established Claremont block, a single mature peppermint, jarrah or plane tree will commonly clear at least one of them.
The Town has indicated it will use CSIRO Urban Monitor mapping to assist with canopy coverage, and encourages landowners to seek their own professional advice on whether regulated trees exist on a property.
The rule that changes the approval pathway
This is the provision worth understanding properly. The Town’s own guidance puts the question and answer plainly:
> If my plans for a single house fully comply with the Residential Design Codes but I have to remove a regulated tree, do I need an approval? Yes, unless otherwise exempt by the policy, works impacting a regulated tree require an application for development approval.
So in Claremont, full R-Codes compliance is not sufficient on its own. If the design requires removing or damaging a regulated tree, the exemption falls away and you are lodging a development application.
The practical consequence for design is significant. On a Claremont block, identifying the regulated trees and designing around them is often cheaper than designing first and applying to remove one later.
Pruning, removal and neighbours
- Maintenance pruning within the policy’s parameters does not need development approval. Pruning a regulated tree in a manner inconsistent with the policy does
- Vegetation that does not meet the regulated tree criteria can be pruned or removed freely, unless the property is on a Heritage List, in which case contact the Town first
- Removing a regulated tree requires a development application supported by an arborist report demonstrating risk to people, buildings or infrastructure. A structural engineer report may also be required
- Where a neighbour’s regulated tree overhangs your boundary and the work goes beyond maintenance pruning, development approval is required, and the responsibility to obtain it rests with the person doing the works
- Removing a regulated tree without approval is an offence under the Planning and Development Act 2005 and may result in compliance action and potentially prosecution
What a tree related application needs
Applications involving work affecting a regulated tree may need:
- The development application form and a Certificate of Title
- Site, floor and elevation plans
- A cover letter specifying the proposed development
- The maturity, height, canopy spread, trunk circumference and species of regulated trees on site
- An arborist report where relevant
- A structural engineer report where relevant
- Tree protection measures in accordance with AS 4970:2025
- Replacement species where applicable
That AS 4970 tree protection requirement is worth noting at design stage rather than at application stage, because tree protection zones can affect where you can excavate, where footings can go and where site access runs.
Heritage in the Town of Claremont
The clause 61 exemption for a compliant single house does not apply to properties on a Heritage List. Where a property is listed, assume a development application is the pathway.
The Town maintains a Heritage List with development controls, and Local Planning Policy 124 Heritage sets out how listed places are assessed. Given the age and character of much of Claremont’s housing stock, confirming heritage status is a first step rather than an afterthought.
Patios, sheds and fire separation in Claremont
Patios and outbuildings are assessed under the R-Codes deemed-to-comply provisions as modified by any applicable local planning policy. Fire separation is decided separately at building permit stage.
Western Australia adopted NCC 2025 on 1 May 2026, introducing WA Part 9.6 for roofed outdoor areas. It gives two routes to the boundary: 900mm measured to the outermost structural projection and excluding the eave overhang, or 500mm measured to the outermost projection and including the eave overhang.
The 500mm route carries conditions including two or more sides open with at least one third of the perimeter open, a non-combustible supporting structure, a polycarbonate or non-combustible roof covering, a non-combustible floor, no direct vertical support to the house, and a solid non-combustible screen at least 1500mm high along every side facing a boundary. Where that does not suit the build, use the 900mm route.
On a Claremont block, remember that a patio positioned to clear the fire separation requirement may still sit inside a tree protection zone. Both need checking, and they pull in different directions.
Claremont plans we prepare
| Project type | What we prepare |
| Additions and extensions | Existing and proposed plans, demolition plan |
| Second storey additions | Full working drawings, elevations, sections |
| New single houses | Concept design through to submission documentation |
| Renovations to heritage listed properties | Plans plus the justification a listed property application needs |
| Patios and alfrescos | Plans with the fire separation route and any tree protection zone shown |
| Sheds and outbuildings | Plans tested against the R-Codes deemed-to-comply provisions |
| Applications involving regulated trees | Plans plus the tree schedule, coordinated with the arborist |
| Carports, garages and front fences | Setback, frontage and truncation assessment |
Claremont projects and what they teach you
Work in the Town of Claremont is part of our western suburbs workload, including second storey additions on the established lots where mature tree cover and existing built form shape what is achievable.
The lesson here is that in Claremont the site constraints outrank the code. A design that satisfies every R-Codes provision can still need a development application because of a tree, or because the property is listed. Establishing both before design is cheaper than discovering either afterwards.
The second lesson is that tree protection is a design input, not a compliance formality. AS 4970 protection zones affect excavation, footings and site access, so a patio, pool or addition sited without reference to them can be compliant on paper and unbuildable in practice.
What Town of Claremont approval costs
Development application fees are set by state regulation and are the same at every WA council, calculated on the estimated cost of development:
| Estimated cost of development | Application fee |
| Not more than $50,000 | $147 |
| $50,001 to $500,000 | 0.32% of the estimated cost |
| $500,001 to $2.5 million | $1,700 plus 0.257% of the amount above $500,000 |
| Written planning advice | $73 |
| Amending or cancelling an approval | $295 |
If the work has already been built, the fee is that figure plus a penalty of twice the fee, so three times the normal amount.
Budget separately for an arborist report where a regulated tree is involved, and for heritage advice where the property is listed. Neither forms part of a drafting fee.
Our drafting fee is quoted per project rather than by a rate card, because a heritage listed property and a straightforward rear addition are not the same job. As a rough guide only, a patio or shed submission sits at the lower end, an addition in the middle, and a new house, second storey or heritage project at the upper end. You get a fixed figure before we start.
How long the drawings take
We are one of the quicker drafting practices in Perth, and we would rather tell you that plainly than quote a number we cannot stand behind.
Turnaround depends on what is being drawn. A patio or a shed is not a second storey addition, and a straightforward flat block is not a sloping site with an existing dwelling to survey and match into. Anyone quoting you a fixed timeframe before seeing the scope is guessing.
What we do is give you a realistic date once we have seen the project, and then keep to it. If we cannot hit something you need, we say so before you commit rather than after.
It is also worth knowing that on most jobs the drafting is not the long pole. The parts that usually set the overall timeline are:
- The council clock, which is set by regulation rather than by us
- Third party reports, such as a Bushfire Attack Level assessment, an arborist report or engineering certification, each of which has its own lead time
- Decisions, meaning how quickly changes come back once you have the first draft in front of you
Those are the things worth planning around, and we will tell you which of them apply to your project at the start.
Draftsman services by Claremont suburb
The Town of Claremont is one of the smallest local governments in the metropolitan area, sitting on the river between Nedlands and Cottesloe.
| Suburb | What tends to drive the design |
| Claremont draftsman | Established high value stock, mature tree cover, heritage listings through the older streets |
| Swanbourne draftsman | Shared with a neighbouring council in parts, confirm which local government your lot falls in |
| Karrakatta draftsman | Limited residential, largely institutional land use |
| Mount Claremont draftsman | Shared with a neighbouring council, confirm the boundary before proceeding |
The Town’s Planning Team can be reached on 9285 4300 or at toc@claremont.wa.gov.au.
Claremont draftsman questions
Do I need approval to remove a tree in Claremont?
Under the draft tree retention policy, yes, where the tree is a regulated tree. That means a living tree 8 metres or more high, and/or with an average canopy diameter of at least 6 metres, and/or a trunk circumference of at least 1.5 metres measured 1.4 metres above the ground, of a species not on a weed register. Removal needs a development application with an arborist report, and possibly a structural engineer report. Removing one without approval is an offence under the Planning and Development Act 2005.
My house design complies with the R-Codes. Do I still need approval in Claremont?
Usually not, but there are two exceptions. If the property is on the Heritage List, the exemption does not apply. And under the draft tree policy, if the work affects a regulated tree, a development application is required even where the design fully complies with the R-Codes. Both are worth confirming before you start designing.
Can I prune my tree in Claremont without approval?
Maintenance pruning within the policy parameters does not need approval. Pruning a regulated tree in a way that goes beyond maintenance pruning does. Vegetation that does not meet the regulated tree criteria can be pruned or removed freely unless the property is on a Heritage List, in which case contact the Town first.
What about my neighbour’s tree hanging over my boundary?
If it is a regulated tree and the work goes beyond maintenance pruning, development approval is required, and the responsibility to obtain it sits with the person carrying out the works, not the tree’s owner. It is worth discussing with the neighbour before doing anything.
Is the Claremont tree policy actually in force?
At the time of writing it was a draft out for public consultation, having been considered at the August 2025 Council meeting. The Town has indicated the policy will be applied to all applications being considered at the time it is adopted, and encourages applicants to have regard to the draft before lodging. Confirm the current status with the Planning Team before relying on it either way.
