Town Planning

Michelle Allen is Council's Planning Officer.  Michelle is located in Northampton and is available by appointment at the Northampton and Kalbarri Shire offices.  All enquiries regarding town planning can be made via email to planning@northampton.wa.gov.au  or by phone to 9934 1202.

Frequently Asked Questions

Click here to view the most frequently asked questions about Town Planning.

Local Planning Strategies

The Shire of Northampton Local Planning Strategy was endorsed on the 19th May 2022 and is used to guide the direction of development and provide the basis for coordinated decision-making on future servicing of the Shire.

Click here to view the Local Planning Strategy.

The Kalbarri Townsite Strategy is a guiding document for the future planning, development and management of the Kalbarri Townsite.

Click here to view the Kalbarri Townsite Strategy.

The purpose of the Horrocks Beach Local Planning Strategy is to guide the future growth and development of the Horrocks Townsite and the broader Expansion Area.

Click here to view the Horrocks Beach Local Planning Strategy.

The Northampton Townsite Revitalisation Plan aims to establish a direction to secure a vibrant and prosperous future for the community of Northampton.

Click here to view the Revitalisation Plan for Northampton.

Horrocks CHRMAP

The Coastal Hazard Risk Management and Adaptation Plan (CHRMAP) has been prepared for Horrocks Beach to provide a long term view of the potential future coastal erosion impacts to the township and provide possible strategies to adapt to the changing oceanic and coastal conditions.  The Final Plan was adopted by Council at its Ordinary Meeting on 18 September 2020.

Final Horrocks Coastal Risk Management and Adaptation Plan

https:www.dplh.wa.gov.au/spp2-6-coastal-planning

Local Planning Policies

Local Planning Policies are guidelines used to assist the local government in making decisions under the Town Planning Schemes.

 Click here to view the Local Planning Policies.

Local Planning Schemes

The schemes control the development of all land in the Shire. These schemes divide the land into reserves or zones and define the types of land uses that are permissible and also set out provisions regarding aspects of development e.g. parking, building height, sign controls, landscaping, amenity controls, heritage places, administration powers etc. The following schemes apply to the Shire of Northampton.

Shire of Northampton Local Planning Schemes

Deemed Provisions for Local Planning Schemes

The Local Planning Schemes are to be read in conjunction with the deemed provisions set out in Schedule 2 of the Planning and Development (Local Planning Schemes) Regulations 2015.

https://www.planning.wa.gov.au/dop_pub_pdf/LPS_Deemed_Provisions.pdf

 Development (Planning) Approval

Development Planning approval is required to undertake any development including:

• a change of use;
• commencement of new or additional use;
• erection of a structure(s);
• sign(s).

It is an offence to commence development without having first obtained any relevant Development Planning Approval(s).

The Planning Officer can advise you on whether an application is required in the case of your proposal, can assist in the preparation of applications and advise on any fees that are payable and other general requirements or conditions that may be placed on the development by the relevant town planning scheme, any applicable local planning scheme policy or other Council policy.

Compliance

Council is responsible to ensure that development complies with the relevant local planning scheme and any conditions placed on a particular Development Planning Approval.

An officer, authorised by Council for this purpose, may at all reasonable times enter any building or land for the purpose of ascertaining whether the provisions of the scheme are being complied with.

Development Planning Approval is required to be obtained prior to commencement of development and any conditions imposed in granting development  planning approval to a development or use must be complied with.

Related Documents

Application for Development ( Planning ) Approval Form

Additional Information for Advertisements Form

Adjoining Landowner Comment Form

Residential Fencing (2019) Information Sheet

Home Occupation/ Cottage Industries

Development Planning Approval is required for home occupations/cottage industries and other home based businesses.

It is recommended that you contact the Shire's Planning Officer prior to the commencement of the business or any associated activity to ascertain whether approval is required.
Council reviews all Home Occupations/Cottage Industries on an annual basis.

Heritage

The Shire has a large number of heritage places contained within the Municipal Heritage Inventory. These places are considered to have aesthetic, historic, scientific or social values for future generations, as well as the present community and are considered worthy of protection and/or conservation.

The Shire of Northampton's Municipal Inventory can be downloaded here.

The listings contained on the Municipal Heritage Inventory are non-statutory (i.e. the listing is to provide Council with information about the heritage of the place) and has no particular power in Council determining an application that may affect a place.

The listings contained with the Local Planning Scheme are statutory and the scheme contains various provisions that will affect these places and the types of development permitted. Refer to Schedule 17 of the Local Planning Scheme No. 10 for information on places in the Heritage List.

There are also other listings of heritage places maintained by the Heritage Council of Western Australia (the State Register), Australian Heritage Commission (the Register of the National Estate), National Trust of Australia (WA) (note: the town of Northampton has been listed as a historic town) and Department for Indigenous Affairs (Register of Aboriginal Sites). It is strongly recommended that you seek advice from the relevant agency on any listing that affects your property.

Coastal Strategies

Coastal Planning Strategy

The Shire of Northampton 2017 Coastal Management Strategy guides the Shire of Northampton in relation to the management, protection and planning of foreshore and coastal areas within its municipality and extends from the Shire's southern boundary to the southern boundary of the Kalbarri National Park, excluding the area comprising Bowes River, Horrocks and Little Bay.

Click here to download the Coastal Management Strategy 2017

Horrocks Beach Coastal Management Strategy

The Horrocks Beach coastal management strategy has been prepared to provide guidance for the management of coastal and human use impacts along Horrocks Beach from the Bowes River mouth to Little Bay in the Shire of Northampton.

Click here to download the Horrocks Beach Coastal Management Strategy

Kalbarri Coastal Strategy

The Kalbarri coastal management strategy has been prepared to provide guidance for the management of coastal and human use impacts on the Kalbarri foreshore reserve in the Shire of Northampton

Click here to download the Kalbarri Coastal Management Strategy

Development Assessment Panel Decisions

Under Development Assessment Panel (DAP) regulations, each DAP will determine development applications that meet set type and value thresholds as if it were the responsible authority under the relevant planning instrument, such as the local planning scheme or region planning scheme. The DAP regulations state that DAP applications cannot be determined by local government or the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC). Occasionally, the Local Government will receive an application that goes to a DAP panel, and the following minutes of these DAP decisions can be viewed via the link below:

http://www.planning.wa.gov.au/Mid-West-Wheatbelt-Central-JDAP.asp#agenda 

Town Planning Advertising

Any planning advertising can be found in the public notices section of the website.