Town Planner Shellharbour
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Illawarra and South Coast
Town planner in Shellharbour
Statements of Environmental Effects, development due diligence, duplex, granny flat, townhouse and subdivision DAs across the Shellharbour local government area. Fixed-fee proposals, usually within one business day.
Local Environmental PlanShellharbour Local Environmental Plan 2013
Development Control PlanShellharbour Development Control Plan 2013
State policiesCodes SEPP (Housing Code, Low Rise Housing Diversity Code), Housing SEPP 2021, low and mid-rise housing provisions
Planning in Shellharbour
Calderwood, Tullimbar and Shell Cove are the active release areas, each with its own DCP chapter and lot size controls that differ from the older suburbs.
Flood mapping around Lake Illawarra and the Macquarie Rivulet, and bushfire on the escarpment foothills, are the usual constraints.
Dual occupancies and granny flats are readily accommodated on the older Warilla, Oak Flats and Albion Park lots.
What we do for Shellharbour sites
- Statements of Environmental Effects for new houses, knock-down rebuilds, alterations, dual occupancies, secondary dwellings and townhouses, written to Shellharbour Local Environmental Plan 2013 and Shellharbour Development Control Plan 2013.
- 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 Shellharbour
- Shellharbour
- Shell Cove
- Albion Park
- Oak Flats
- Warilla
- Barrack Heights
- Flinders
- Calderwood
- Tullimbar
- Mount Warrigal
- Blackbutt
- Lake Illawarra
- Albion Park Rail
- Kiama Downs
- Dunmore
How a DA works in Shellharbour
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: Shellharbour
Do I need a Statement of Environmental Effects for a DA in Shellharbour?
Yes. Every development application lodged with Shellharbour council through the NSW Planning Portal needs a Statement of Environmental Effects that addresses Shellharbour Local Environmental Plan 2013 and Shellharbour Development Control Plan 2013. Complying development certificates do not.
Can I build a duplex in Shellharbour?
Dual occupancies are permissible with consent in most R2 and R3 zones, subject to the minimum lot size and frontage in Shellharbour Local Environmental Plan 2013 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 Shellharbour?
The zoning, lot size, height and floor space ratio come from Shellharbour Local Environmental Plan 2013; setbacks, site coverage, landscaping, privacy, parking and stormwater come from Shellharbour Development Control Plan 2013. State policies such as the Codes SEPP and the Housing SEPP sit over the top.
Do you visit sites in Shellharbour?
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 Shellharbour.
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 Shellharbour
Wollongong and Illawarra: escarpment, bushfire and steep-site planning
How the escarpment, bushfire prone land and steep blocks shape house, duplex and subdivision DAs in Wollongong under Wollongong LEP 2009 and DCP 2009.
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Next step
Tell us about your Shellharbour 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.