Dianella paving from Landsdale, about 9 km away
Dianella is a City of Stirling suburb about 9 km south of IBP Paving's base in Landsdale. It is big, with more than 24,000 residents, and it covers the whole spread of Perth housing: subdivided in the 1880s but mostly built from the 1960s onward, with the St Andrews and Dress Circle estates adding large two storey homes in the early 2000s. We replace the oldest driveways, relay the 20 year old ones, lay stone and brick entertaining areas, rebuild retaining and install soakwells to the City's 15 mm rule, with a lifetime workmanship warranty and over 20 years of experience.
The City of Stirling's 15 mm soakwell rule
The City of Stirling's On Site Stormwater Drainage Criteria require every drop of rain that falls inside a Dianella lot boundary to be contained on site, through soakwells or a City approved alternative such as a holding tank or infiltration basin. A standard lot is designed, as a minimum, for a 1 in 1 year 60 minute storm, which the City equates to 15 mm of rainfall across the entire site, and it encourages owners to go bigger. The formula is impervious area in square metres multiplied by 0.015, which gives the cubic metres of storage required. The smallest soakwell allowed for roof water is 900 mm diameter by 600 mm deep, roof water has to be stored and infiltrated separately from the runoff off paving and car bays, and any drainage structure under a driveway, carport or garage must be trafficable and sit on an approved base so the liner does not subside.
| Impervious area | Soakwell capacity at 0.015 |
|---|---|
| 100 m² | 1.5 m³ |
| 200 m² | 3 m³ |
| 300 m² | 4.5 m³ |
| 400 m² | 6 m³ |
Source: City of Stirling, On Site Stormwater Drainage Criteria (June 2024).
The City sets a setback too: soakwells and other underground stormwater systems stay at least 1 m edge to edge from adjacent structures and property boundaries, or further if the manufacturer says so, unless a structural engineer certifies a closer position. Where groundwater is within 1.2 m of the surface, the lot is more than 90 percent impervious, the house is over two storeys or there is a basement, a Drainage Management Plan is required and the storage is designed for a 1 in 20 year critical storm instead. Our City of Stirling soakwell requirements page sets out the full criteria and the City's capacity table.
Yellow sand west, grey sand east
Dianella straddles the change between the Spearwood and Bassendean dune systems. Streets on the western side towards Yokine sit on yellow Karrakatta sand over deeper limestone; the eastern side towards Morley is on the grey leached Bassendean sand. Both drain well, there is no major wetland in the suburb and the water table is generally several metres down, so soakwells sized to the City's formula work without fuss almost everywhere. The practical difference is in the digging: the yellow sand on the west can hide limestone at depth on the higher ground, while the grey sand on the east is soft and needs the excavation walls supported while the unit goes in.
The coast is about 10 km away, so salt attack on pavers is not a Dianella issue, and the suburb has no bushland interface of note. What it does have is slope: parts of Dianella rise towards the Dianella Heights ridge, and many 1960s front gardens are held by low limestone or brick walls that have leaned over sixty years, which is why retaining walls and driveways are often rebuilt together here.
Sixty year old driveways and twenty year old estates
The bulk of Dianella was built from the 1960s, which puts its original driveways at the end of their life. Cracked concrete, worn early pavers and bases that have washed into undersized soakwells are the standard presentation, and the answer is a full paving replacement on a compacted crushed limestone base with the soakwell replaced at the same time. Subdivision is common on the larger old lots, and a rear battle axe block often needs a new shared driveway with trafficable soakwells on an approved base beneath it, as the City requires for any drainage structure under a driveway.
St Andrews and the Dress Circle are different. Their early 2000s two storey homes have driveways and alfresco areas that are 20 to 25 years old, with sound pavers on a sand bed that has moved. A lift and relay brings them back, and owners frequently upgrade the alfresco to stone while the crew is there. The smaller neighbours of Yokine, Nollamara and Mirrabooka have the same mix of eras and are serviced from this page.
Dianella verges, crossovers and the street tree setback
Under the City of Stirling's Verge Treatment Policy a Dianella owner can put lawn, plants or organic mulch on the verge without asking, but paving, synthetic turf and in situ concrete all need prior approval, and an approval lasts two years. Hard surfaces are capped at one third of the verge area excluding the crossover and footpath, have to be at least 2 m from any street tree, must include at least one street tree in the treatment and must be finished in a visible contrast to the path, crossover and road, with a 2 percent cross fall towards the road or towards a street tree or garden bed. Rocks, pebbles, gravel, crushed bricks, raised kerbing, timber, raised garden beds and retaining walls are not permitted on a verge. The outright ban on hardstand verges applies in the City's Heritage Protection Areas in Mount Lawley, Menora and Inglewood, not in Dianella.
A crossover needs a Crossover Installation Application assessed by the City before it is built or modified, and in general only one is permitted per street frontage. A single residential crossover is 3.0 to 6.0 m wide excluding splays, a shared duplex crossover up to 7.5 m. Permitted residential materials are plain or colour incorporated concrete, segmented clay or concrete pavers rated for heavy duty vehicles and flagstone products; asphalt is not permitted. A brick paved crossover uses heavy duty pavers carried by a manufacturer's guarantee of at least 10 years, laid with 2 to 4 mm gaps. The City contributes a subsidy equivalent to 50 percent of the cost of a standard 3 m wide grey concrete crossover towards the first concrete or brick paved crossover to a property, or the replacement of an existing bitumen one, provided the claim is received within 12 months of completion. Street trees set the position: a trunk up to 200 mm at breast height needs a 1 m setback, 201 to 400 mm needs 2 m, 401 to 600 mm needs 3 m and anything larger needs 4 m, with a reduced setback only after a City inspection.
Sources: City of Stirling, Verge Treatment Policy (last reviewed 26 May 2020) and Verge treatment guidelines (August 2022); City of Stirling, Crossover Policy (last reviewed 8 September 2026) and Crossover Guidelines Residential and Non Residential; City of Stirling, Heritage and development.
Suburbs near Dianella
From Dianella we service Morley to the east, Ballajura to the north east and Girrawheen to the north west, along with Yokine, Noranda, Mirrabooka, Nollamara and Inglewood. See areas we service for the complete list.
