Townhouses and terraces near Parramatta stations: LEP 2023 and 800 m

Townhouses and terraces in the City of Parramatta are controlled by Parramatta Local Environmental Plan 2023, which permits multi dwelling housing in the R3 zone and sets lot size, height and floor space ratio standards, and by Chapter 6 of State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021, which since 28 February 2025 permits multi dwelling housing and attached dwellings on R2 land within 800 metres walking distance of nominated stations and town centres and attaches non-refusal standards to them. In the Parramatta LGA the nominated precincts published by the Department are Epping station and town centre, Westmead station, Carlingford Court and Northmead Village; the Parramatta CBD itself is dealt with under separate city centre controls. Parramatta Development Control Plan 2023 Part 3 Residential Development then sets the design controls that a merit assessment applies to the parts of a scheme the SEPP standards do not cover.

Who this is for: developers and site acquisition teams assessing R2 and R3 land in the City of Parramatta for townhouse or terrace product, who want to know which catchment rules, LEP clauses and DCP parts drive the yield and the subdivision outcome.

Which Parramatta sites are inside a low and mid rise housing area?

Section 163 of Chapter 6 of the Housing SEPP defines three areas. A low and mid rise housing area is land within 800 metres walking distance of land identified as a Town Centre on the Town Centres Map or of a public entrance to a railway, metro or light rail station listed in Schedule 11. An inner area is within 400 metres and an outer area is between 400 and 800 metres; the inner and outer split matters for residential flat buildings in R3 and R4, not for townhouses. Where any part of a site area is inside the catchment, the whole site is treated as inside.

The Department’s policy page lists four nominated precincts within the City of Parramatta: Epping station and town centre, Westmead station (shared with Cumberland), Carlingford Court shopping centre and Northmead Village shopping centre. Section 164 then removes land from the chapter: bush fire prone land, heritage items, land to which Chapter 5 (transport oriented development) applies, land within 800 metres of a station listed in Schedule 12 and land on the Low and Mid Rise Housing Exclusion Map. In practice, land around Parramatta, Harris Park and Granville stations and in the CBD is governed by the LEP’s city centre provisions and other State precinct controls rather than Chapter 6, so the catchment question has to be answered on the Department’s mapping for the exact lot, not from a radius drawn on a street map.

The common mistake is to measure 800 metres as the crow flies. The definition is walking distance, measured along the public pedestrian network from the station entrance or the edge of the mapped town centre, and a site that is 700 metres in a straight line across a rail corridor can be well outside.

What does Parramatta LEP 2023 permit and at what density?

Parramatta LEP 2023 commenced in 2023 and consolidated the former Parramatta, Auburn, Holroyd, The Hills and Hornsby controls across the amalgamated LGA. Multi dwelling housing is permitted with consent in Zone R3 Medium Density Residential; in Zone R2 it relies on section 170 of the Housing SEPP inside a catchment. Clause 4.3 applies the Height of Buildings Map and clause 4.4 the Floor Space Ratio Map, with clause 4.4A providing exceptions in mapped areas. Many R2 and R3 sites carry a 0.5:1 or 0.6:1 mapped FSR and a 9 metre height; the section 172 non-refusal standards of 0.7:1 and 9.5 metres override the LEP figure where they are more generous, because a consent authority cannot refuse on that ground if the standard is met.

Three LEP subdivision clauses matter for townhouse and terrace product. Clause 4.1(3B) disapplies the Lot Size Map to the subdivision of a lot in R2, R3 or R4 where there is a dual occupancy and each resulting lot contains one of its dwellings. Clause 4.1B allows a single consent for subdivision into three or more lots below the Lot Size Map in R3 and R4 with an attached dwelling erected on each, provided council is satisfied each lot can accommodate an attached dwelling and the subdivision is appropriate for residential amenity and streetscape. Clause 4.1C requires a lot of at least 600 square metres with a 15 metre frontage for a dual occupancy in R2, R3 or R4 and for a manor house in R4. Clause 4.1A applies the Lot Size Map to strata subdivision in R2, which stops strata being used to fragment R2 land outside the SEPP provisions.

What do the Housing SEPP non-refusal standards say for townhouses and terraces?

Section 165 identifies sections 168, 169, 172, 173, 179 and 180 as non-discretionary development standards for section 4.15(2) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. If a proposal complies with a standard, council cannot refuse it on that ground or require a more onerous standard; if it does not comply, section 4.15(3) still allows consent on the merits.

Two further provisions apply. Section 171 requires council to consider the Tree Canopy Guide for Low and Mid Rise Housing (February 2025) before granting consent for multi dwelling housing or terraces in a catchment, which in practice means a canopy and deep soil plan with the DA. And the definition of multi dwelling housing (terraces) requires each dwelling to face and be accessed from a public road, which is what allows the 0.5 space parking rate and the 165 square metre Torrens lots; a scheme accessed from an internal driveway is multi dwelling housing, not terraces, and falls back to the 600 square metre and 12 metre standards.

What does Parramatta DCP 2023 Part 3 add?

Parramatta DCP 2023 came into effect on 18 September 2023 and is organised in twelve parts; Part 3 Residential Development is arranged by housing type and is read with Part 2 Design in Context, Part 5 Environmental Management and Part 6 Traffic and Transport. Part 3 supplies the controls the SEPP does not: front, side and rear setbacks, building separation, landscaped area and deep soil, private open space per dwelling, solar access to living areas and open space, visual and acoustic privacy, and the design of driveways and garages. Part 6 sets the parking rates for multi dwelling housing, which apply as a maximum where the SEPP minimum is expressed as applying only if no cap is set. Part 7 Heritage and Archaeology applies on and near heritage items and conservation areas, which are numerous in Harris Park, Parramatta North, Epping and Granville.

The numeric DCP controls should be confirmed against the current Part 3 PDF on council’s development control plans page, as Part 3 has been amended since 2023 and site-specific provisions in Part 8 override it in named precincts. What can be said with confidence is how council applies them: a non-refusal standard removes a ground of refusal for lot size, frontage, FSR, height and parking minimums, but a scheme that meets 0.7:1 and still fails the DCP solar access, deep soil or private open space controls can be refused on those grounds. Section 4.15(3) of the Act protects compliance with the listed standards; it does not convert the DCP into a non-issue.

How does a Parramatta terrace or townhouse DA come together?

1. Locate the site on the Department’s low and mid rise housing mapping and the Exclusion Map, and confirm the walking distance to the relevant Schedule 11 station entrance or Town Centre boundary.
2. Check section 164: bush fire prone land, heritage item, Schedule 12 station proximity, Chapter 5 land and mapped exclusion areas all remove the site from Chapter 6.
3. Read the zone, Lot Size Map, height and FSR on the NSW Planning Portal Spatial Viewer and a section 10.7 certificate, then decide whether the product is terraces (street-fronting) or multi dwelling housing (internal access).
4. Test lot size, frontage, FSR and height against sections 168 or 172, and the subdivision layout against section 169 or 173.
5. Test the concept against Parramatta DCP 2023 Part 3 setbacks, landscaping, deep soil, private open space and solar access, Part 6 parking and, if relevant, Part 7 heritage, and prepare the tree canopy plan required by section 171.
6. Prepare the Statement of Environmental Effects with a compliance table separating SEPP non-refusal standards from LEP and DCP controls, so the assessing planner can see which grounds of refusal are closed.
7. Where the subdivision is part of the proposal, lodge it concurrently and address the section 173 lot standards on the plan of subdivision.

Where do these proposals fail in Parramatta?

The first failure is catchment. Sites bought on a straight-line radius turn out to be outside the walking distance or inside an exclusion, and the R2 permissibility evaporates. The second is product definition: a scheme drawn as terraces with rear lane access and no street frontage to each dwelling is assessed as multi dwelling housing and needs 600 square metres and 12 metres, not 500 and 18. The third is treating the SEPP standards as the whole assessment; council’s planners assess solar access, privacy, deep soil and streetscape under Part 3 and Part 2 of the DCP and refuse on those grounds where the standards are met but the amenity is not. The fourth is parking: a 0.5 space rate for terraces only applies where the DCP does not set a cap, and where it does, Part 6 governs.

Definitions

Low and mid rise housing area

Land within 800 metres walking distance of a mapped Town Centre or a station entrance listed in Schedule 11 of the Housing SEPP, excluding the land removed by section 164.

Multi dwelling housing (terraces)

Multi dwelling housing where every dwelling faces and is accessed from a public road; it attracts the 500 square metre, 18 metre and 0.5 space standards and the section 173 subdivision provisions.

Non-discretionary development standard

A standard identified under section 4.15(2) of the EP&A Act that, if complied with, prevents refusal on that ground and prevents a more onerous requirement.

Walking distance

The distance measured along the pedestrian network, not in a straight line, from the station entrance or town centre edge to the site.

Attached dwelling

A building containing three or more dwellings, each with its own lot, attached to the dwelling next door; clause 4.1B of Parramatta LEP 2023 allows subdivision for attached dwellings below the Lot Size Map in R3 and R4.

Tree Canopy Guide

The Department’s Tree Canopy Guide for Low and Mid Rise Housing (February 2025), which council must consider under section 171 before approving townhouses or terraces in a catchment.

URBA prepares site capacity reviews and Statements of Environmental Effects for townhouse and terrace DAs across the City of Parramatta, separating the Housing SEPP non-refusal standards from the LEP and DCP controls so that the assessment path is clear. See our townhouse and multi dwelling planning service and our Parramatta town planning page, or request a fee proposal for a specific site.