Planning Rules
State and local planning legislation and policies set out the rules which control what development can occur on your land. The planning laws and policies have a cascading hierarchy beginning with Legislation, State Environmental Planning Policies, Local Environmental Plans, (statutory documents) and Development Control Plans, Civil Works Specifications and Local Policies (non statutory documents).
The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (the Act) and Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000 (Regulation) provide the legislative framework under which the NSW planning system operates.
The Act identifies the State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPP's), and Local Environmental Plans (LEP's) as legally binding planning controls for Council, its residents and businesses operating in the Hawkesbury Local Government Area to comply with.
How do I know which controls apply to my land?
The planning controls applying to a specific parcel of land can be identified in a Section 10.7 Planning Certificate. For more information on planning certificates and how to apply for one with Council, see Planning Certificates
What Are State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPPs)?
These are documents that Council is required, by law, to consider when assessing development. They apply to all local government areas within New South Wales, though may not apply to all development. In order to determine if a SEPP applies to your development proposal, the SEPP must be reviewed.
A list of SEPPs can be found on the NSW legislation website by selecting in force, then selecting “S” under Environmental Planning Instruments.
What are Local Environmental Plans?
Local Environmental Plans (LEPs) introduce controls and requirements for specific issues and places within a local government area. LEPs are prepared by councils to guide planning decisions in their local government areas and establish the requirement for the use and development of land. Through zoning and permissible land uses they allow councils to supervise the ways in which land is used.
Hawkesbury Local Environmental Plan 2012 applies to all land within the Hawkesbury local government area.
What are Development Control Plans?
Development Control Plans (DCP's) are planning documents which provide guidelines for individual building uses, such as residential commercial or industrial, other development aspects, e.g. car parking, effluent disposal, stormwater management, and can apply to either a single site, a precinct or an entire local area. DCPs are non-statutory planning documents which generally contain a range of aims, objectives and rules to facilitate development.
DCP's are important in the planning system because they provide a flexible means of identifying additional development controls and standards for addressing development issues without the need for a formal statutory plan. The guidelines contained within a DCP are in addition to the provisions of the statutory planning documents (SEPPs or LEP) and must be consistent with them.
Hawkesbury Development Control Plan 2002 applies to all land within the Hawkesbury local government area.
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