Strickland Road
Ardross
We design and build custom homes in Mount Pleasant and along the Canning River.
Our projects typically start at $1.5M for the build, excluding land. Two of our homes are in progress here, and this page sets out what the City of Melville's codes, the Canning Bridge plan and the river rules mean for a new house on a Mount Pleasant block.
Our homes in Mount Pleasant
We have two homes in progress in Mount Pleasant: Baldwin Avenue, a modern home on an 809 m2 block due for completion in 2026, and St Michael Terrace, a contemporary minimalist home on a 506 m2 block due in 2027. Our nearest finished homes are Strickland Road in Ardross (2025, 509 m2) and Redmond Street in Salter Point (September 2021, 374 m2).
Private tours are by invitation; ask us which of these can be visited.
Building in Mount Pleasant: what changes
The scheme and the codes. Mount Pleasant is in the City of Melville under Local Planning Scheme No. 6, gazetted in May 2016 and consolidated to Amendment 20 on 11 September 2026. The scheme has no special control areas and modifies the R-Codes only for split-coded lots (clause 26). On the sheet for the Applecross and Mount Pleasant localities, plotted 16 February 2023, R20 is the most frequent label, with R15, R12.5, R30, R40, R50 and R60 also present; public mapping puts about 51% of the suburb's area in R20 and about 8% in R12.5. Confirm the R-code with the City of Melville.
The 2018 recoding. Amendment 2, gazetted on 28 February 2018, moved two R12.5 areas to R20: the streets enclosed by Riverview Terrace south of Gunbower Road, Cowrie Crescent and Springside Avenue, with the lots on the east side of Bateman Road between Canning Avenue and Gunbower Road; and the area bordered by The Esplanade, Coogee Road, Ullapool Road and Hawkins Street. R12.5 pockets remain elsewhere. The recoding widened subdivision potential on those streets, and the City's 2016 strategy counts demolition and replacement by lot size as a source of new housing.
Canning Bridge. The Canning Bridge Activity Centre Plan's 800 m station catchment reaches into Mount Pleasant. The plan's zones are M15, M10, H8 (six to eight storeys) and H4 (four storeys); an updated plan was conditionally approved by the Statutory Planning Committee on 10 June 2026, and the 2016 plan applies until it is finalised. The zone boundary inside the suburb was not found. Check whether the block falls inside the Canning Bridge Activity Centre Plan area.
Height, trees and views. LPP 1.9 Height of Buildings was revoked on 18 August 2026, so on a single-house street height is an R-Codes question, read with LPP 3.1 Residential Development. A draft policy on regulated trees on private land, LPP 1.24, was advertised on 31 August 2026 and is not yet in force. The 2016 strategy asks that new residential scale stay in harmony with the area's "low density development with mature trees and a natural river foreshore", and that views from Canning Bridge, Mount Henry Bridge and Deep Water Point be protected.
The river, heritage and bushfire. Lots that abut the river reserve along The Esplanade and at Deep Water Point sit inside the Swan Canning Development Control Area, where DBCA Policy 48 sets the dwelling setback at the lesser of 10 m or 20% of lot depth, requires open-style fencing above 1 m and limits retaining walls. Confirm the acid sulfate soil class for a foreshore lot. Blue Gum Reserve on Canning Avenue is on the City's Heritage List, and no Mount Pleasant houses were found on the Heritage List or the 2019 Local Heritage Survey. Point checks of the DFES bushfire map on 31 October 2026 returned no designation, but about 6% of the suburb's area is mapped and the method buffers vegetation by 100 m, so a block next to Blue Gum Lake bushland should be checked. Check the lot's bushfire designation.
Demolition and knockdown rebuild. The suburb was known as Canning Bridge until the 1940s, and the City records its main development from the 1950s, so most new homes replace a post-war house. The ABS counted 67 new house approvals in the Booragoon statistical area, which takes in Mount Pleasant, in the 12 months to August 2026, up from 48 the year before, with a combined value of $79.0 million. The City of Melville issues the demolition permit (BA5) in about 10 working days, with a $1,900 verge bond and a $100 fee; development approval is needed only for a Heritage Listed place.
Rules change. Confirm the current codes for your lot with the City of Melville or with us before you buy or design.
Mount Pleasant at a glance
| Measure | Figure | As at | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| New houses approved, 12 months | 67in the Booragoon statistical area, which includes Mount Pleasant (48 the year before) | September 2025 to August 2026 | ABS Building Approvals |
| Residential density codes | About 51%of the suburb area R20, 8% R12.5, 4% R-AC0 | Sampled 31 October 2026 | DPLH via Landgate SLIP |
| Bushfire-prone mapping | About 6%of the suburb area; check the lot | Sampled 31 October 2026 | DFES via Landgate SLIP |
| Swan Canning development control area | About 4%of the suburb area, along the river | Sampled 31 October 2026 | DBCA via Landgate SLIP |
| Separate houses | 60.6%of private dwellings | 2021 Census | ABS |
| Population | 7,456 | 2021 Census | ABS |
Figures are for the suburb or statistical area named. Area shares are grid estimates from public mapping and are not lot designations.
For current median sale prices, see REIWA's Mount Pleasant suburb profile.
What a $1.5M+ build looks like in Mount Pleasant
Our projects typically start at $1.5M for the build, excluding land. Our cost guide puts a Trendsetter home at $4,000 to $6,000+ per square metre, with builds from $1.5M to $4M and most between $1.5M and $3M. In Mount Pleasant the budget follows the block. On an 809 m2 lot like Baldwin Avenue the floor area can spread into a wide single level or a two storey plan with a real garden; on a 506 m2 lot like St Michael Terrace the plan has to work harder for the same outdoor space. On a foreshore block the Policy 48 setback fixes where the house can sit.
How we work
Trendsetter Homes has designed and built custom homes across Perth since 1997. Design, construction and interiors are handled by one team, so the people who draw your home are the people who build it, and the interior designer is in the room from the first brief. Before you commit, we show you real homes: private tours of finished and in-progress client homes, by invitation, with no obligation. Many clients talk to us before they buy a block, and that is a good time to start.
The people you will work with
Design, construction and interiors are one team. These are the people you meet first.
Nearby suburbs we build in
Mount Pleasant's neighbours across the river sit under different councils, and each council sets its own codes.
Nearby: Ardross, Salter Point.
Elsewhere in the river suburbs: Bull Creek, Manning, South Perth.
All areas: see every suburb we have written up.
Questions about building in Mount Pleasant
Do I need approval to demolish a house in Mount Pleasant?
You need a demolition permit from the City of Melville (form BA5), usually issued in about 10 working days, with a $1,900 verge bond and a $100 fee. Development approval is needed only if the place is on the City's Heritage List, adopted on 16 June 2020; no Mount Pleasant houses were found on it in our research.
Is my block R20 or R12.5?
Most of the suburb is R20. Amendment 2, gazetted on 28 February 2018, moved two former R12.5 areas to R20: around Riverview Terrace and Cowrie Crescent, and around The Esplanade and Coogee Road. R12.5 pockets remain elsewhere, so check the lot on the City's zoning map.
What do the river rules mean for a block on The Esplanade?
A lot abutting the river reserve sits in the Swan Canning Development Control Area. DBCA Policy 48 sets the dwelling setback at the lesser of 10 m or 20% of lot depth, requires open-style fencing above 1 m and limits retaining walls. The City's 2016 strategy also asks that views from Canning Bridge, Mount Henry Bridge and Deep Water Point be protected.
How high can I build?
On a single-house street the R-Codes govern height; the City's height policy, LPP 1.9, was revoked on 18 August 2026. Inside the Canning Bridge Activity Centre Plan area the zones run from H4 (four storeys) to H8 (six to eight storeys).
Talk to us
Book a design meeting at our Osborne Park office, or request a private tour of a finished or in-progress home. Office (08) 9446 2822. For tours, call Marek on 0412 688 079. Or use the enquiry form below.
Request a design chat