Northern Beaches Council has endorsed public exhibition of a new clearer set of draft planning rules, to support consistent decision making and better community outcomes in the development of land and housing across the Northern Beaches area.

The proposed Development Control Plan (DCP) has been more than 5 years in the making, informed by a series of technical studies and several rounds of community consultation.

The draft DCP will consolidate the existing controls contained in Manly, Pittwater, and Warringah DCPs.

It is designed to support the draft Local Environment Plan which is currently with the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure for agreement to progress to community consultation. As they are interdependent, Council plans to exhibit the two plans at the same time.

Together, the draft LEP and DCP seek to:
•    Protect the environment, views and local heritage 
•    Respect and preserve local character
•    Put housing in the right places to meet different needs 
•    Reduce urban heat and support resilient and sustainable development 
•    Protect jobs and employment areas  
•    Avoid development in hazardous and rural areas 
•    Create liveable communities with more trees, facilities and sustainable transport 

For most of the Northern Beaches, changes will be small and the plans do not propose any significant increases in the scale or density of development.

Mayor Sue Heins said the DCP was a critical document that would assist to guide future development on the Northern Beaches.

“With years of work and several stages of community input informing the plan, it is great to reach this milestone,” Mayor Heins said.  

“We know our community place a high value on protecting our environment and unique neighbourhood character and the draft DCP seeks to achieve this, including several new requirements to consider sustainability, the environment, natural hazards and heritage. 

“We expect the final draft LEP and DCP to be exhibited within the coming months and I will be encouraging interested residents to have their say.”