Lombardy Street
Woodlands
We design and build custom homes in Woodlands and across Perth's western suburbs.
Our projects typically start at $1.5M for the build, excluding land. Woodlands is a 1960s suburb under the City of Stirling, a different council with different rules from the Cambridge suburbs to its south, so this page sets out what those rules mean for a new house here, and shows the home we have built here.
Our homes in Woodlands
Lombardy Street is a Hamptons coastal home we completed in June 2023 on a 506 m2 lot. It shows how a new home can sit comfortably among 1960s neighbours.
Two other homes are nearby: The Grove in Wembley, completed in February 2023 on a 493 m2 lot, and Brown Way in Karrinyup, under way with completion expected in 2027. Private tours are by invitation. Ask us which can be visited.
Building in Woodlands: what changes
The scheme and the code. Woodlands sits in the City of Stirling under Local Planning Scheme No. 3, consolidated to Amendment 131 in January 2026. Clause 5.2 applies the R-Codes by the density number on the scheme map. Public mapping puts about 71% of the suburb's area in R20, with R40 and R-AC0 at the centres, so the established streets are expected to be R20. The City's IntraMaps tool gives the code for a specific lot, and that is where to start. Confirm the R-code of the lot on the City's IntraMaps.
Height. Stirling has no local height policy for houses. Its residential building heights policy (LPP 2.6) was revoked on 20 February 2023, although the City's single house information sheet still refers to it, so a single house is assessed against the R-Codes Table 3 Category B limits for the lot's code, with height measured from average natural ground level as the information sheet describes. In Stirling a single house is exempt from development approval only when it complies fully with the R-Codes, the scheme and the City's local policies, and a building permit is always required. A design that varies a setback or height goes through development approval first.
Trees. The City protects registered trees rather than every large tree. An owner can nominate a tree to the Significant Tree Register under scheme clause 3B, and under LPP 6.17 (adopted 15 October 2024) approval is needed to remove a registered tree. Clause 5.5.5, added by Amendment 113 in October 2024, lets Council vary development standards solely to retain a registered or established tree. No general tree retention policy for private land was found.
Heritage. The City's Heritage List (August 2025) has one Woodlands entry, Our Lady of Holy Rosary Church on Angelico Street, in Management Category A, and no heritage area applies in the suburb. On a house block, heritage is unlikely to be a constraint.
Soils and the lake. State geology mapping shows Tamala Limestone under the suburb, with Spearwood sand over most of it and limestone mapped closer to the surface over about a quarter of the area. Toward Herdsman Lake the mapped units change to wet, lake phase sands, and acid sulfate soil risk is mapped as high to moderate on that side. Herdsman Lake Regional Park is Bush Forever site BF281 with specially protected fauna. One bushfire-prone polygon on the DFES map (designated 13 December 2025) touches the suburb; most of Woodlands is not designated.
Demolition and knockdown rebuild. The City's strategy records that Woodlands, Wembley Downs and Churchlands were settled from the 1960s, so a new house here usually replaces a home of that era. The strategy warns that ad hoc infill risks losing the characteristics the community values, notes canopy loss from infill in back gardens, and directs 75% of new infill to centres and corridors. The ABS recorded 47 new house approvals in the Wembley Downs - Churchlands - Woodlands statistical area in the 12 months to August 2026, against 46 the year before. For the demolition permit (BA5) the City asks for a signed application by all owners, an asbestos assessment form, a verge permit with a verge bond and, near sewers, Water Corporation approval; development approval comes first where a place is on the Heritage List, in a Heritage Protection Area, on the State Register or under a Heritage Act order.
The city centre edge. The City publishes a Stirling City Centre Woodlands Precinct local development plan under the Stirling City Centre Special Control Area (scheme clause 6.11). Whether it covers land inside the suburb boundary was not verified. Check whether the Woodlands Precinct local development plan covers any lot inside the suburb with the City of Stirling.
Rules in motion. The City's draft Local Planning Scheme No. 4 was advertised from 18 October 2024 to 24 January 2025, Council supported it with modifications on 10 June 2025, and the Minister's determination is still to come. The draft aims to protect lower density neighbourhoods while removing some apartment restrictions. Rules change. Confirm the current codes for your lot with the City of Stirling or with us before you buy or design.
Woodlands at a glance
| Measure | Figure | As at | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| New houses approved, 12 months | 47in the Wembley Downs - Churchlands - Woodlands statistical area (46 the year before) | September 2025 to August 2026 | ABS Building Approvals |
| Residential density codes | About 71%of the suburb area R20, 4% R40, 2% R-AC0 | Sampled 31 October 2026 | DPLH via Landgate SLIP |
| Separate houses | 64.2%of private dwellings | 2021 Census | ABS |
| Population | 4,551 | 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 Woodlands suburb profile.
What a $1.5M+ build looks like in Woodlands
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. On an R20 block like our Lombardy Street lot of 506 m2, the plan usually goes to two storeys measured from average natural ground level, with the footprint kept tight enough to leave garden and trees. Limestone near the surface over part of the suburb can add to excavation, and near Herdsman Lake the mapped soils add site work.
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
Wembley, to the south, sits in the Town of Cambridge and runs on different rules from Woodlands.
Elsewhere in the western suburbs: City Beach, Floreat, Nedlands, West Leederville.
All areas: see every suburb we have written up.
Questions about building in Woodlands
What does the City of Stirling need before I demolish?
A demolition permit (BA5) with a signed application by all owners, an asbestos assessment form, the fee, a CTF levy form where applicable, Water Corporation approval near a sewer, a verge permit with a verge bond, and WorkSafe approval for a structure 10 m or higher. If the place is on the Heritage List, in a Heritage Protection Area, on the State Register or under a Heritage Act order, development approval comes first.
Do I need planning approval for a new single house in Woodlands?
Only if the design departs from the rules. In Stirling a single house is exempt from development approval when it complies fully with the R-Codes, Local Planning Scheme No. 3 and the City's local policies. Any variation brings the design into the approval process, and a building permit is required in every case.
How is building height measured in Woodlands?
From average natural ground level, as the City's single house information sheet describes, against the R-Codes Table 3 Category B limits for the lot's code. The City's own height policy (LPP 2.6) was revoked on 20 February 2023, so the R-Codes are the rule to read.
Does Herdsman Lake affect my block?
On the lake side of the suburb it can. The State's mapping shows wet, lake phase sands and high to moderate acid sulfate soil risk there, the regional park is a Bush Forever site, and one bushfire-prone polygon touches the suburb. We found no council document setting a wetland buffer for private lots, so the practical effect is on soils, footings and dewatering.
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