Building design & drafting in Carrum Downs.

What's built here

Carrum Downs was farmland until the 1980s. The population went from about 2,360 in 1981 to over 13,000 by 1996 — classic growth-area development. AVJennings' Botany Park estate, from the late 1970s and early 80s, was the first big one and left generous lots. Around three quarters of dwellings are detached houses, and newer estates are still going in.

The planning context

Our studio is here. We are in this suburb every day, not visiting it. The thing outsiders miss is that Carrum Downs is not one place — Frankston's neighbourhood character guidance splits it into four precincts, CD1 to CD4, each with different expectations, all referenced against Clause 15.01-5L of the Frankston Planning Scheme.

Controls that actually apply in Carrum Downs

• Precinct CD1 — Mid-1980s to present. Grand urban and modern villa styles, brick and tile, front setbacks of 3–4m or 6–7m, low open fencing, curvilinear streets, and a valued rural outlook to the west.
• Precinct CD2 — 1960s to 80s brick and tile with some timber, typically no front fences. Includes the Brotherhood of St Laurence Settlement heritage area.
• Precinct CD3 — Sporadic development along Frankston-Dandenong Road — interwar through 1950s with some 1980s mix, mature native gardens and canopy trees, inconsistent setbacks.
• Precinct CD4 — Recently developed. Modern single-storey villa styles, brick and render, tile roofs, 3–4m front and 1m side setbacks, young native street trees.
• Drained swampland — Carrum Downs is built on the drained Carrum Swamp. Reactive clay soils are a recurring structural and drainage issue on older stock, and flood-related overlays apply to parts of the suburb — Frankston has been updating its flood mapping.

Check what sits over your own title in two minutes, free: search your address on the Victorian Government's planning property report. Send it to us and we can usually tell you whether a permit is likely from one conversation.

What we typically do in Carrum Downs

New dwellings on estate lots; extensions and renovations to 1970s–90s stock; dual occupancy and infill subdivision on the larger older lots; character-compliant design in CD2 and CD3 where garden and canopy retention matter.

Whatever the type, the documentation is the same discipline: architectural drafting drawn to be built, town planning drawings council can assess first time, and working drawings a builder can price without padding.

Planning controls change — amendments are gazetted regularly. Everything above was accurate at the time of writing, but confirm current controls for your specific address before relying on them.

Talk to us about your Carrum Downs project

Send us the address and the planning property report and we will tell you what applies — before you commit to anything. Get in touch, or see everywhere else we work.