Town Planner Southern Highlands
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Illawarra and South Coast
Town planner in Southern Highlands
Statements of Environmental Effects, development due diligence, duplex, granny flat, townhouse and subdivision DAs across the Southern Highlands local government area. Fixed-fee proposals, usually within one business day.
Local Environmental PlanWingecarribee Local Environmental Plan 2010
Development Control PlanWingecarribee Development Control Plan 2021
State policiesCodes SEPP (Housing Code, Low Rise Housing Diversity Code), Housing SEPP 2021, low and mid-rise housing provisions
Planning in Southern Highlands
Wingecarribee Shire has extensive heritage conservation areas in Bowral, Berrima, Mittagong and Burradoo and detailed character controls in the DCP.
Large rural lot sizes, bushfire prone land and sewer availability decide most subdivision and dual occupancy enquiries.
Renwick and the Moss Vale enterprise corridor are the release fronts.
What we do for Southern Highlands sites
- Statements of Environmental Effects for new houses, knock-down rebuilds, alterations, dual occupancies, secondary dwellings and townhouses, written to Wingecarribee Local Environmental Plan 2010 and Wingecarribee Development Control Plan 2021.
- Development due diligence reports before you buy: zoning, permissibility, yield, constraints and the approval pathway.
- Dual occupancy and duplex planning, including minimum lot size and frontage checks, CDC eligibility under the Low Rise Housing Diversity Code and Torrens subdivision advice.
- Granny flat planning where the site does not fit the Housing Code and a DA is needed.
- Townhouse and multi dwelling housing yield testing, DCP compliance and SEE reports.
- Subdivision, Clause 4.6 requests, DA or CDC advice and responses to council requests.
Suburbs we cover in Southern Highlands
- Bowral
- Mittagong
- Moss Vale
- Bundanoon
- Robertson
- Burradoo
- Berrima
- Renwick
- Colo Vale
- Hill Top
- Exeter
- Sutton Forest
- Welby
- Yerrinbool
- Braemar
How a DA works in Southern Highlands
Development applications are lodged through the NSW Planning Portal and assessed by the council against the LEP, the DCP and the section 4.15 matters in the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. Where a proposal meets every standard in the Codes SEPP it may instead be approved as complying development by a private certifier, which is faster but has no room for merit assessment. We check both pathways before recommending one.
A complete application is the single biggest thing an applicant controls. Our Statements of Environmental Effects address the LEP and DCP in the order the assessing officer reads them, with the sources shown, so requests for information are the exception rather than the rule.
Frequently asked questions: Southern Highlands
Do I need a Statement of Environmental Effects for a DA in Southern Highlands?
Yes. Every development application lodged with Southern Highlands council through the NSW Planning Portal needs a Statement of Environmental Effects that addresses Wingecarribee Local Environmental Plan 2010 and Wingecarribee Development Control Plan 2021. Complying development certificates do not.
Can I build a duplex in Southern Highlands?
Dual occupancies are permissible with consent in most R2 and R3 zones, subject to the minimum lot size and frontage in Wingecarribee Local Environmental Plan 2010 and the DCP controls. Since 1 July 2024 the state-wide dual occupancy provisions also apply to most R2 land. A site check confirms whether your lot qualifies and whether CDC or DA is the pathway.
Which planning controls apply in Southern Highlands?
The zoning, lot size, height and floor space ratio come from Wingecarribee Local Environmental Plan 2010; setbacks, site coverage, landscaping, privacy, parking and stormwater come from Wingecarribee Development Control Plan 2021. State policies such as the Codes SEPP and the Housing SEPP sit over the top.
Do you visit sites in Southern Highlands?
Most planning reports are desktop based, using the survey, drawings, aerial imagery and the Planning Portal. We inspect where access, slope, trees or neighbouring development make it worthwhile, and we work with local surveyors and engineers across Southern Highlands.
Instrument names are stated as current at the time of writing. Councils amend their LEPs and DCPs; we confirm the version in force on the date of each report.
Reading
Planning guides mentioning Southern Highlands
Next step
Tell us about your Southern Highlands site
Send the address and your plans or concept. A URBA planner will confirm the pathway and send a fixed-fee proposal, usually within one business day.