In 2019 Guildford Historic Town was added to the State Register of Heritage Places by the Heritage Council of WA (HCWA). The City engaged heritage consultants to develop a new draft Guildford Heritage Area Local Planning Policy.

Community consultation ran from April 1, 2022 to July 1, 2022. The consultation involved an online survey, two community drop in sessions, three key stakeholder workshops, City of Swan market stalls in Bassendean and Guildford, letters and email invitations to comment, social media advertisements, newspaper advertisements, eNewsletter notifications, posters, distributed flyers, and digital panel signage at Bassendean Shopping Centre.

The new Guildford-Mandoon Heritage Area Local Planning Policy was adopted at Council on 5 October 2022.

Background

When Guildford Historic Town was added to the State Register of Heritage Places, the Guildford Townsite became protected under the Heritage Act 2018. This means that all development applications will be referred to the Heritage Council of WA for comment.

It is therefore important that the City's Local Planning Policy guides the conservation and management of Guildford in accordance with the significance established by Heritage Council of WA.

The new policy assists in aligning future decision making between the Heritage Council of WA and the City and replaced POL-C-106 Local Planning Policy (LPP) for Guildford Conservation Precinct to reflect the addition of the Town to the State Register of Heritage Places.

During the development of the draft policy, stakeholder groups specifically recognised for their involvement in the preservation of Guildford’s history and character were consulted, including the National Trust of Western Australia, Swan Guildford Historical Society, Guildford Association, Transition Town Guildford and the South West Land and Sea Council.