At its Ordinary Meeting held on 25 July 2017, Council approved the creation of a Design Review Panel (DRP). Council appointed the current panel membership at its Ordinary Council Meeting held on 26 October 2021. Membership of the City of Bayswater DRP for the term of 26 October 2021 to 26 October 2023 is as follows:
- Chairperson Philip Gresley
- Member Kris Mainstone
- Member Patrick Miller
- Member Samuel Klopper
- Member Simon Venturi
- Member Brett Wood-Gush
- Member Dennis Chew
- Member Jane Weatherall
- Member Stephen Carrick
Above photo of current DRP Panel Members (left - right): Stephen Carrick, Dennis Chew, Kris Mainstone, Philip Gresley (Chair), Patrick Miller, Samuel Klopper and Simon Venturi. Not pictured: Jane Weatherall and Brett Wood-Gush.
The DRP provides professional and technical advice, in a non-adversarial and informal manner to the City’s Administration and Council in relation to the design of buildings and other related matters. The panel performs an advisory function only and does not make decision on, or approve applications. The panel is established as a body with which the City may consult in assessing an application under the provisions of the City of Bayswater Local Planning Scheme.
The DRP has been formed to ensure future developments preserve the character of the local area and deliver high quality built form. Impartial architectural and design advice will be provided by the DRP to ensure developments are well designed and will positively enhance the local streetscapes.
Key aspects of the development the DRP will provide comment on include the overall design quality and functionality of the development, how well the development fits within its context and surroundings, and whether or not the development has potential to form a lasting contribution to the sense of place and identity of the City of Bayswater.
DRP members either collectively or individually are not authorised to speak on behalf of the City or provide comment to the media or other persons, in respect of any item under consideration, unless authorised by the Chief Executive Officer.
The City of Bayswater Design Review Panel Terms of Reference was most recently reviewed by Council at its Ordinary Meeting held on 3 September 2019.
Expressions of interest for appointment to the City of Bayswater Design Review Panel
The City of Bayswater invites registered and practicing professionals to register interest in appointment to its Design Review Panel (DRP) every two years.
The DRP acts in an advisory capacity and does not have a decision-making function. The role of the DRP is to provide independent, impartial, expert design advice to:
- Proponents and local government officers on the design quality of proposals
- Decision-makers (State and City of Bayswater, Development Assessment Panels, the State Administrative Tribunal) on eligible development applications or other proposals
- Local governments, where requested, on strategic policy, master plans, precinct plans, local development plans, structure plans, activity centre plans, local planning schemes and amendments or other matters.
The membership of the Panel shall comprise five persons, with a minimum of three required to consider any matter. The appointment of all members including the Chairperson of the Panel shall be appointed by Council following a formal Expression of Interest process.
Applicants must be professionals with appropriate qualifications, expertise and substantial experience in one or more of the following disciplines:
- Architectural design of the types of development that will be referred to the panel
- Urban design
- Heritage and urban conservation
- Sustainability and environmental design
- Building construction.
To ensure local knowledge and issues are properly taken into account, preference will be given to candidates who have practices based within the City of Bayswater, or can demonstrate significant experience in the City of Bayswater.
Each nomination must have the names of at least two independent professional referees who can attest in writing as to the suitability of the candidate. Current employees of the City of Bayswater and elected members of the Bayswater Council are not eligible for appointment.
Please read Terms of Reference for further details.
Proposals eligible for design review include:
- proposals that are significant because of their size or the uses they support;
- proposals that are significant because of their site or location; or
- proposals that are significant because of their community impact.
The Design Review Panel (full panel) is to provide impartial architectural and design advice on:
- proposals including a building that is three storeys or greater in height (above natural ground level);
- proposals with eight or more multiple dwellings (apartments);
- proposals of 20 or more grouped dwellings;
- proposals that meet the mandatory requirement to be determined by the Joint Development Assessment Panel; or
- any other relevant matter, including a development application, scheme amendment, activity centre plan, structure plan, policy, precinct plan, local development plan or design guidelines referred by the Director Community and Development or Manager Development Approvals.
The DRP (one member) is to provide impartial architectural and design advice on:
- proposals with up to seven multiple dwellings (apartments).
Notwithstanding the above, the following developments will generally be exempt from referral to the DRP:
- single houses;
- development within an industrial zone; or
- service stations.
If an application requires review by the Design Review Panel (DRP), a fee of $2,500 is applicable for a full panel review, or a fee of $500 is applicable for a one member review. Applicants are encouraged to consult with the panel at the conceptual stage of plan development, and prior to lodgement of a development application. Applications not capable of approval under the Local Planning Scheme will not be referred to the DRP.
To submit an application for referral to the DRP, please refer to the process outlined in the Proponents Guide to the City's Design Review Panel. Should you require further information in relation to the City's Design Review Panel, please contact the City's Development Approvals on (08) 9272 0622 or via mail@bayswater.wa.gov.au
In preparation for referral to the Design Review Panel, an applicant should prepare a Powerpoint presentation detailing the project background and outlining how the proposal addresses the design principles of State Planning Policy 7, which are summarised as follows:
- Context and character
- Landscape quality
- Built form and scale
- Functionality and build quality
- Sustainability
- Amenity
- Legibility
- Safety
- Community
- Aesthetics.
The plans to be provided must include a site analysis (context), site design response (opportunities and constraints), and design proposal. A copy of the plans and presentation need to be provided to the City no less than two weeks prior to the scheduled DRP meeting date. The Powerpoint presentation is required to be submitted two days prior to the scheduled DRP meeting date.
Character and context submission example.
Applicants will be invited to attend at the relevant part of the DRP meeting (multiple items may be on the agenda), however all formal communication with the Panel will be through the Director Planning and Development Services or Manager Development Approvals who will liaise directly with the Chairperson. Panel members are strictly prohibited from individual communication with proponents or interested persons on business before the Panel outside of the meeting structure adopted by Council.
The structure of a typical DRP meeting will follow the below process for each item:
1. Briefing and pre-review panel discussion (panel only) – 10 minutes
Overview by the local government planning officer, including:
- relevant site history and background
- surrounding context and proposed (if known) or approved developments
- compliance with planning controls and relevant design criteria
- internal referral comments if available (e.g. heritage, stormwater, traffic/parking)
- where appropriate, briefings from relevant State Government agencies also invited to attend the meeting
Panel pre-review discussion determining key questions to ask / key issues to raise
2. Welcome and introductions – 2 minutes
- Proponents are invited into the meeting room. Chair welcomes them and introduces the panel. Panel coordinator may assist with proponent setup
3. Proponent presentation – 10 minutes
- Proponent/client provides their vision for the project
- Proponent/design team presentation, explaining the project background and outlining how the proposal addresses the SPP7.0 Design Principles and other relevant matters
4. Panel questions and clarifications – 5 minutes
- Panel members are able to seek clarification on any points
5. Panel discussion – 10 minutes
- Chair invites panel members to provide individual comment on the proposal
- Discussion should be referred back to the SPP7.0 Design Principles
6. Confirmation of advice/ recommendations – 3 minutes
- Chair summarises panel comments and may confirm advice and recommendations or may indicate the timeframe within which this should be expected to be provided
- Chair thanks the proponent and the proponent leaves the meeting
7. Post review discussion (panel only) – 5-10 minutes
- Chair identifies key issues and recommendations for reporting
- Any new issues or recommendations that arise in post review discussions should be noted as such and communicated promptly to the proponent
Design review meetings should be closed to members of the public as information discussed can be commercially confidential.
The DRP will provide independent professional design advice on key aspects of development in a report based on the DR3 template from the State's Design WA Design Review Guide. Officer reports (including Responsible Authority Reports) on applications referred to the DRP will detail the advice and recommendations provided by the panel on the proposal.