Understanding Planning in Strathfield

1. State Plans: These include overarching documents like the NSW State Infrastructure Strategy and Future Transport 2056 which set long-term goals and priorities for development and infrastructure across the state.
2. Regional Plans: The Greater Sydney Region Plan provides a framework for growth and development in the Sydney Region, addressing local needs and opportunities while aligning with state-wide objectives.
3. District Plans: Particularly relevant for metropolitan areas like Greater Sydney, these plans break down regional strategies into more detailed, localised actions. Strathfield is in the Eastern City District.  
   
   

Figure 1: Eastern City District  

Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act): This is the primary legislation governing land use planning in NSW. It outlines the processes for plan making, development assessment, and community consultation.

Local Environmental Plans (LEPs): These are statutory instruments prepared by local councils to guide development and land use in their areas. LEPs must align with the broader strategic plans and are subject to approval by the NSW Minister for Planning.

Development Control Plans (DCPs): These provide detailed guidelines to support the implementation of LEPs, covering aspects like building design, heritage conservation, and environmental protection.

The primary purpose of the EP&A Act is to provide a framework for the planning and assessment of development within NSW. It aims to ensure that development is carried out in an orderly and sustainable manner, balancing economic, social, and environmental considerations.

Objectives

• Promote Social and Economic Welfare: The Act seeks to enhance the social and economic welfare of the community by ensuring proper management, development, and conservation of the state’s natural and other resources.
• Facilitate Ecologically Sustainable Development: It emphasises the importance of considering economic, environmental, and social factors in planning decisions to achieve sustainable development.
• Community Participation: The Act encourages public participation in the planning process, ensuring that community views are considered in decision-making.
• Efficient and Transparent Processes: It aims to streamline planning processes and make them more transparent, ensuring that decisions are made efficiently and fairly.
• Environmental Protection: The Act includes provisions to protect and enhance the natural and built environments, ensuring that development does not adversely impact these areas.

The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act) grants several key functions to local councils in New South Wales:

• Strategic Planning: Councils are responsible for preparing Local Environmental Plans (LEPs) and Development Control Plans (DCPs) to guide land use and development within their areas.
• Development Assessment: Councils act as consent authorities, assessing and determining development applications to ensure they comply with relevant planning instruments and policies.
• Community Consultation: Councils must engage with the community during the preparation of planning instruments and the assessment of significant development proposals.
• Environmental Protection: Councils are tasked with ensuring that development within their areas protects and enhances the natural and built environments.
• Building Regulation: Councils oversee building certification and compliance, ensuring that construction meets safety and quality standards.
• Infrastructure Planning: Councils plan and manage local infrastructure, such as roads, parks, and community facilities, to support sustainable development.

Local Environmental Plans (LEP) are a requirement of the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (the Act).  The Act outlines key requirements of LEPs:

• Purpose and Scope: LEPs are statutory instruments that guide land use and development within local government areas. They must align with broader state and regional planning strategies.
• Preparation: Local councils are responsible for preparing LEPs. This process involves community consultation and must adhere to guidelines issued by the NSW Department of Planning.
• Content: LEPs typically include zoning maps, land use tables, and development standards. They address various aspects of land use, such as residential, commercial, industrial, and environmental protection.
• Approval Process: Once a draft LEP is prepared, it must be submitted to the NSW Minister for Planning for approval. The Minister may make modifications before final approval.
• Implementation and Review: LEPs are used to assess and determine development applications. They are periodically reviewed and updated to reflect changing community needs and state planning policies.

The Strathfield Local Environmental Plan (LEP) serves the following purposes:

• Guiding Development: It provides a framework for land use and development within the Strathfield local government area (LGA), ensuring that growth is managed in a sustainable and orderly manner.
• Supporting Strategic Goals: The LEP aligns with local, district, and regional planning priorities, helping to implement broader strategic objectives.
• Environmental Protection: It promotes development that protects and enhances both the natural and built environments, ensuring that new developments contribute positively to the community.
• Regulatory Compliance: The LEP supports the controls outlined in the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, ensuring that development complies with statutory requirements.

The format of the LEP and key content such as definitions, land use zone and other provisions are set out in the Standard Instrument – Principal Local Environmental Plan prepared and issued by the NSW Government. This is to ensure a level of consistency between LEP documents prepared by respective Councils. 

Development Control Plans (DCPs) are a requirement of the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 which establishes the key structural requirements of a DCP:

• Purpose and Status: DCPs provide detailed guidelines and controls to support the implementation of Local Environmental Plans (LEPs) and State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPPs). They help ensure that development is consistent with broader planning objectives.
• Preparation: Local councils are responsible for preparing DCPs. The process involves community consultation and must align with the strategic planning framework established by the Local Environmental Plan and relevant State Environmental Planning Policies.
• Content: DCPs typically include detailed provisions on various aspects of development, such as building design, landscaping, heritage conservation, and environmental protection.
• Implementation: Once adopted, DCPs guide the assessment and determination of development applications, ensuring that proposed developments meet the specified requirements and contribute positively to the local area1.

The purpose of the Strathfield Development Control Plan is to:

• Guide Future Development: It provides a framework for future development within the Strathfield local government area (LGA), ensuring that growth is managed in a sustainable and orderly manner.
• Support Environmental Controls: The DCP supports the controls outlined in the Strathfield Local Environmental Plan 2012, helping to implement the broader planning strategies and policies of the area.
• Protect and Enhance the Environment: It promotes development that protects and enhances both the natural and built environments, ensuring that new developments contribute positively to the community.

The Strathfield DCP contains the general planning controls and design standards for key types of development within the LGA. The DCP are a guide to form and design of development that Council is likely to support. An applicant is able to put forward alternative solutions if they are able to demonstrate they achieve the objectives of the DCP.

Local Strategic Planning Statements are a requirement of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.  The Strathfield Local Strategic Planning Statement (LSPS), also known as Strathfield 2040,(PDF, 16MB) serves several key purposes:

• Vision and Framework: It translates the community’s vision into a land use planning framework, guiding the future development of the Strathfield local government area (LGA) up to 2040.
• Alignment with Broader Plans: The LSPS aligns local planning priorities with regional and district plans, ensuring consistency with broader strategic objectives.
• Guiding Development: It provides a basis for developing new Local Environmental Plans (LEPs) and Development Control Plans (DCPs), which regulate land use and development.
• Community and Stakeholder Engagement: The LSPS incorporates input from the community and stakeholders, ensuring that planning decisions reflect local needs and aspirations.

The was adopted in 2020 Strathfield LSPS(PDF, 16MB) is organised around several key themes:

• Connectivity: Enhancing transport and digital connectivity to ensure easy access to services, jobs, and amenities.
• Community Wellbeing: Promoting health, safety, and social cohesion within the community.
• Civic Pride and Place Management: Fostering a sense of pride in the local area through effective place management and the preservation of heritage.
• Liveable Neighbourhoods: Creating vibrant, attractive, and sustainable neighbourhoods that cater to diverse lifestyles.
• Responsible Leadership: Ensuring transparent, accountable, and effective governance to support the community’s vision.

These themes guide strategic planning and development efforts in Strathfield, to create a well-connected, vibrant, and sustainable community.

The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 mandates infrastructure contribution plans to ensure that new developments contribute to the cost of local infrastructure. In order to ensure transparency and accountability Councils must maintain a register of all contributions and planning agreements, ensuring transparency in the collection and expenditure of funds.  The preparation of contribution plans involves community consultation to ensure that the needs and priorities of the local community are considered. Council can prepare an adopt either (or both) a s7.11 Plan and a s7.12 Plan:

Section 7.11 Contributions

Local councils prepare detailed plans specifying the infrastructure to be provided and its cost. This helps calculate the contribution rate, usually charged per dwelling or per square meter. Under a s 7.11 plan there must be a demonstrated connection between the development and the infrastructure being funded.

Section 7.12 Contributions:

s 7.12 contribution plans provide an alternative to s7.11 contributions and are charged as a percentage of the estimated cost of the development. Unlike a s7.11, there is no need to demonstrate a direct link between the development and the infrastructure. The levy is typically up to 1% of the development cost, though some areas may charge a higher percentage.

The Strathfield Development Contribution Plans are currently active and play a crucial role in funding local infrastructure. Here are the key points:

Strathfield Council has two main types of contribution plans:

• Section 94 Plan: This plan, also known as the Direct Development Contributions Plan, covers the period from 2010 to 2030.
• Section 94A Plan: This plan, also known as the Indirect Development Contributions Plan, is indexed and capped annually.

These plans ensure that new developments contribute to the cost of local infrastructure, such as parks, community facilities, and roads Strathfield Council maintains a register of all planning agreements and contributions, which is updated regularly to ensure transparency. This includes annual financial statements showing the aggregate totals of money, land, and works received. 

The plans comply with the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Development Contributions) Regulation 2021, which introduced new reporting and accounting requirements.

Council commenced a review of its Contribution Plans in 2023.  Work has progressed on the preparation of a work schedule and the Draft Local Infrastructure Contributions Plan. It should also be noted that it is proposed that a s7.12 Contributions plan be prepared for the Homebush Transport Oriented Development Precinct (the TOD).  The TOD s7.12 plan and the Strathfield s7.12 Plan are to be complementary with some items included in both Works Schedules and appropriately apportioned to new or existing population. 

As the draft Strathfield Council Local Infrastructure Contributions Plan proposes a higher rate contribution levy it is necessary to consult and seek endorsement from the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure. Ultimately approval for the plan will be obtained from the Minister of Planning and Public Spaces. The next steps in that process involve the following:

• Public exhibition of the Draft Local Contributions Plan for minimum period of 28 days.
• Preparation of a justification report for the section 7.12 Local Infrastructure Contribution Plan, including summary of submissions
• Formal request to the Minister including lodgement with the Department for consideration
• Further report to Council with update on the contribution plan and seeking resolution to adopt the plan.