Fencing in Belgrave
In Belgrave the landscape overlay is about front fences, and it doesn't require a planning permit for one under 1.2 m or more than 75% see-through.
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Front fences under SLO22
Nearly all of Belgrave's house blocks are under a Significant Landscape Overlay, and in Belgrave that is mostly Yarra Ranges' foothills and township schedule, SLO22. It asks for a planning permit for a front fence unless the fence is under 1.2 m high or more than 75% see-through. So it doesn't require one for a low picket fence, or a taller one of open slats or wire, but it does for a solid 1.8 m paling fence across the front.
The building rules come on top. Within 3 m of the street a fence over 1.5 m (1.2 m in brick or concrete) needs a building permit; on a declared road the limit is 2 m. Yarra Ranges' residential zones set no lower height of their own.
Get a free property report from VicPlan to see which overlay is yours.
Checked 25 October 2026 against Vicmap Planning, the state's zone and overlay maps (DataVic), measured across the suburb, Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedules to Clause 42.03 (SLO1–6, SLO22, SLO23) and Building Regulations 2018 (Vic), authorised version 031.
Side and back fences
SLO22's fence rule is about front fences, so a side or back fence up to 2 m needs neither a planning nor a building permit, unless another overlay on your report says otherwise. Two can. The tree site found SLO3 at a few points, and under it any fence needs a permit unless it is under 1.8 m and more than 75% see-through. About 7% of Belgrave is in the flood overlay, the Land Subject to Inundation Overlay, where every fence needs a planning permit.
About two thirds of Belgrave is Low Density Residential, so many boundaries are long, and the Fences Act's half-each rule applies to every metre of a sufficient fence. Dividing fences covers the notice.
Checked 25 October 2026 against Vicmap Planning, the state's zone and overlay maps (DataVic), measured across the suburb, Victoria Planning Provisions, Clause 62.02 (buildings and works), Building Regulations 2018 (Vic), authorised version 031, Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedules to Clause 42.03 (SLO1–6, SLO22, SLO23), Victoria Planning Provisions, Clause 44.04 (Land Subject to Inundation Overlay) and Fences Act 1968 (Vic), authorised version 072.
Backing onto the park or the lake
About a seventh of Belgrave is park or reserve: Belgrave Lake Park, Borthwick Park, the recreation reserve and Dandenong Ranges National Park among them. Expect to pay for a fence along one yourself. The Crown doesn't contribute, and the Fences Act doesn't treat a council as an "owner" of land it holds as a public park.
Checked 25 October 2026 against Wikipedia: Belgrave, Victoria, Vicmap Planning, the state's zone and overlay maps (DataVic), measured across the suburb and Fences Act 1968 (Vic), authorised version 072.
The bushfire overlay and the fence line
The Bushfire Management Overlay covers the whole suburb. Along a boundary fence built before 10 September 2009, vegetation can be cleared 4 m wide, both sides together, without a planning permit. CFA's garden advice favours non-combustible fences and stone walls near the house; that is advice, not a rule. Clearing a fence line has the conditions.
Checked 25 October 2026 against Vicmap Planning, the state's zone and overlay maps (DataVic), measured across the suburb, Victoria Planning Provisions, Clause 52.12 (bushfire protection exemptions) and CFA: designing a fire-resistant garden.
Where the fence rule changes
- Kallista, Sherbrooke and Belgrave Heights
- Largely the ranges overlay, SLO1, where any fence needs a permit unless it is under 1.8 m and more than 75% see-through.
Checked 25 October 2026 against Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme, Schedules to Clause 42.03 (SLO1–6, SLO22, SLO23).
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