Cottesloe Draftsman for Town of Cottesloe Plans and Council Approval
The Town of Cottesloe is one of the few WA councils that names the deemed-to-comply check by its statutory reference, clause 61A, and explains what it is for: to let a proposal proceed straight to the building approval stage.
That is worth understanding, because Cottesloe also has an extensive Heritage List, and heritage listing is what removes the exemption. This page sets out how the two interact.
What a Cottesloe draftsman or Cottesloe drafter does for you
Cottesloe is small, coastal, expensive and heavily character driven. The constraints are heritage, streetscape and coastal exposure rather than density.
For a Town of Cottesloe project that means:
- Confirming whether the property is on the Heritage List, which is the single most consequential fact
- Testing the design against Local Planning Scheme No. 3, the R-Codes deemed-to-comply provisions and the Town’s design guidelines
- Deciding whether to use the clause 61A deemed-to-comply check to confirm the position in writing before lodging anything
- Accounting for coastal exposure, which drives wind classification and material selection at permit stage
- Preparing documentation to the Town’s lodgement standard
We draw architectural and planning documentation. We do not produce structural engineering drawings or electrical design.
What “Cottesloe council approval” actually means
People use “council approval” to cover two or three separate things. They are assessed by different people under different legislation, and most projects do not need all of them.
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, the local planning scheme and the council’s own local planning policies, covering siting, setbacks, height, bulk, open space and streetscape.
Here is the part that saves people time and money. On most smaller residential jobs, development approval is only needed where the design does not meet the deemed-to-comply provisions of the R-Codes, or the equivalent standards in a local planning policy. Draw a shed, patio or carport inside the numbers and you generally go straight to a building permit. Step outside them and you are asking for a variation, and the variation is what triggers the planning application.
A deemed-to-comply check. This is the step most people have never heard of. Where no development approval is needed, your building surveyor still needs evidence of that before issuing a certificate of design compliance. Clause 61A of the deemed provisions lets you ask the council to confirm it in writing. Fees vary widely: the Town of Victoria Park charges $73, the Town of Cambridge charges $295 for a new single house and $100 for additions with a 14 day response, and some councils do not offer it at all. The Town of Cottesloe runs one, and describes it using its statutory name, the clause 61A deemed-to-comply check.
One rule holds everywhere. Being exempt from development approval does not exempt you from a building permit.
The clause 61A check in Cottesloe
Since 15 February 2021, homeowners and small businesses have been able to avoid development approval for single houses, extensions and small projects such as cubby houses and patios, where the design meets the deemed-to-comply criteria of R-Codes Volume 1, or any scheme provision or planning policy that amends or replaces those criteria.
Clause 61A is the mechanism that confirms it. It lets an applicant who intends to build a new single house, or extend or renovate an existing one, ask the Town whether development approval is required. The Town’s own description of the purpose is that it enables development proposals to process straight to the building approval stage.
That is exactly the certainty a building surveyor needs. If your Cottesloe project is a single house or an alteration to one, this check is the cleanest way to close the planning question before you commit to a permit application.
Heritage in the Town of Cottesloe
The exemption has a hard limit. Places on the Heritage List require development approval from the Town for most development works, and as part of that application a Heritage Impact Statement may be required.
Given the age and character of much of Cottesloe’s housing stock, confirming heritage status is the first step on any project, not a formality at the end. Where the property is listed, plan for a development application and for the additional documentation a Heritage Impact Statement involves.
The Town also maintains design guidelines that sit alongside the Scheme and the R-Codes, so checking the R-Codes number in isolation is not sufficient here.
Patios, sheds and fire separation in Cottesloe
Patios and outbuildings are assessed under the R-Codes deemed-to-comply provisions as modified by any applicable local planning policy or design guideline.
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.
An enclosed shed is assessed under Part 9.2 instead, which is a different rule set.
Coastal exposure matters in Cottesloe. Exposure category, terrain and shielding feed into the wind classification, which drives structural requirements, tie downs and fixings. On a beachfront or near-beachfront lot, expect a higher wind class than an equivalent inland block, and expect that to affect cost.
Cottesloe 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 |
| Clause 61A check submissions | Plan set prepared to survive the Town’s deemed-to-comply assessment |
| Renovations to heritage listed properties | Plans plus the documentation a Heritage Impact Statement application needs |
| Patios and alfrescos | Plans with the fire separation route identified |
| Sheds and outbuildings | Plans tested against the R-Codes deemed-to-comply provisions |
| Carports, garages and front fences | Setback, frontage and truncation assessment |
Cottesloe projects and what they teach you
Work in the Town of Cottesloe is part of our western suburbs workload, on the established coastal lots where heritage status and streetscape do most of the work.
The lesson Cottesloe teaches is that the two questions are sequential, not parallel. Heritage status first, because it decides whether the exemption is available at all. Then the deemed-to-comply assessment, because that decides whether you need an application. Answering them in the other order wastes time.
What Town of Cottesloe 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.
On a heritage listed property, budget for a Heritage Impact Statement, which is specialist work and does not form part of a drafting fee.
Our drafting fee is quoted per project rather than by a rate card, because a heritage listed cottage 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 Cottesloe suburb
The Town of Cottesloe is one of the smallest local governments in the state, covering the coastal strip between Claremont and Mosman Park.
| Area | What tends to drive the design |
| Cottesloe draftsman | Character and heritage stock throughout, confirm Heritage List status before designing |
| Coastal Cottesloe draftsman | Direct exposure, wind classification and material selection drive the permit stage |
| North Cottesloe draftsman | High value stock, second storey additions and substantial renovations dominate |
| Peppermint Grove draftsman | A separate local government, confirm which council your lot falls in before proceeding |
Cottesloe draftsman questions
What is a clause 61A deemed-to-comply check?
It is a written request asking the Town to confirm whether development approval is required for a new single house, or an extension or renovation to an existing single house. Where the design meets the deemed-to-comply criteria of the R-Codes or any policy that amends them, the Town can confirm that no development approval is needed, allowing the project to proceed to the building approval stage.
Does heritage listing change things in Cottesloe?
Substantially. Places on the Heritage List require development approval for most development works, and a Heritage Impact Statement may be required with the application. The exemption route is not available, so plan for an application from the outset.
Do I need approval for a patio in Cottesloe?
Where the patio meets the deemed-to-comply criteria of the R-Codes and any applicable local policy, and the property is not heritage listed, development approval is generally not required. A building permit is a separate matter and will still be needed unless the structure falls within the Schedule 4 exemption of a freestanding Class 10a building no larger than 10m2 and no higher than 2.4m.
Does being near the beach affect my Cottesloe plans?
It affects the building permit rather than the planning assessment. Wind classification takes account of exposure, terrain and shielding, and a coastal Cottesloe lot will generally carry a higher wind class than a sheltered inland block. That flows through to structural requirements and cost.
