Draft Foundations Development Control Plan (DCP) (April 2023)

A development control plan provides detailed planning and design guidelines to support the planning controls in the Lithgow Local Environmental Plan, 2014.

The principal purpose of a development control plan is to provide guidance to persons proposing to carry out development to:

• Give effect to the aims of the Local Environmental Plan that applies to the development.
• Facilitate development that is permissible under the LEP.
• Achieve the objectives of the land zones under the LEP.

The provisions of a development control plan are not statutory requirements but are a head of consideration for development evaluations under S 4.15 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, 1979.

When these controls are consistently applied, they are given weight in Land and Environment Court proceedings.

The DCP will apply to the Urban Release Area as mapped in Lithgow LEP Map URA_002.

It will apply when making a development application for development consent on land outlined in red in the Figure below:

At present the Draft Foundations DCP has been prepared as a stand-alone DCP to apply to this site.

Council is reviewing the option to integrate this Draft DCP within Lithgow Development Control Plan 2021.  This would involve the option to separate the site-specific controls for this site as Chapter 10 of Lithgow 2021.  The generic controls of Lithgow DCP 2021 would also apply to the site.  In the event of any inconsistency between Chapter 10 and requirements within Chapter 1-8 of the Lithgow DCP 20-21 the provision of Chapter 10 would prevail.

Upon rezoning of the site in April 2022, the site became an Urban Release Area within Lithgow Local Environmental Plan 2014 which triggers Part 6 of the LEP.

To ensure development of land in an urban release area occurs in a logical and cost-effective manner, Clause 6.3 requires a development control plan to be prepared for the land prior to any major development on the site.

Clause 6.3 of the LLEP 2014 requires the Urban Release Area DCP’s to address the following matters:

(a)  a staging plan for the timely and efficient release of urban land, making provision for necessary infrastructure and sequencing,

(b)  an overall transport movement hierarchy showing the major circulation routes and connections to achieve a simple and safe movement system for private vehicles, public transport, pedestrians and cyclists,

(c)  an overall landscaping strategy for the protection and enhancement of riparian areas and remnant vegetation, including visually prominent locations, and detailed landscaping requirements for both the public and private domain,

(d)  a network of active and passive recreation areas,

(e)  stormwater and water quality management controls,

(f)  amelioration of natural and environmental hazards, including bush fire, flooding and site contamination and, in relation to natural hazards, the safe occupation of, and the evacuation from, any land so affected,

(g)  detailed urban design controls for significant development sites,

(h)  measures to encourage higher density living around transport, open space and service nodes,

(i)  measures to accommodate and control appropriate neighbourhood commercial and retail uses,

(j)  suitably located public facilities and services, including provision for appropriate traffic management facilities and parking.

The principal aims of the Foundations DCP are listed as follows:

▪ To enable the delivery of environmentally, economic and socially sustainable development;

▪ To promote innovative and flexible development that will relate to its surroundings both man- made and natural;

▪ To provide high quality design and amenity for all development;

▪ To facilitate the creation of publicly accessible open space areas;

▪ To create the Foundations as a vibrant and active mixed-use community;

▪ To provide connections to required services to meet the future needs of the Precinct;

▪ To enhance and protect key environmental features, cultural and Indigenous heritage of the area.

▪ Provide a diversity of housing options from larger lots to the north of the site to suit the landscape and terrain through to smaller lot typologies in the centre of the site that do not impact the character of existing surrounding areas.

▪ Integrate new commercial land uses and spaces and adaptive re-use of heritage buildings to activate the southern areas near the existing town centre.

▪ To ensure development is guided by the principles of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design.

▪ Provide legible pedestrian links to the surrounding areas.

▪ Physically connect with the lakes where possible with recreation and communal amenity.

▪ Enhance and protect view corridors to water bodies and landscape features.

▪ Protect significant vegetation clusters and create pocket parks with green emphasis.

▪ Treat the water’s edge sensitively and ensure unbroken communal access.

▪ Weave built form into natural topography and minimise visual impacts of cut/ fill.

It is not possible to plan or write controls for all development scenarios. The controls in this DCP have been designed to address common development types and scenarios. However, there will inevitably be situations where strict compliance with controls is not able to be achieved, and or alternate solutions are preferred.

In these cases, Council may vary a control but only where Council has considered a written request from the applicant that seeks to justify the departure by demonstrating:

• Compliance with the control within the DCP is unreasonable or unnecessary in the circumstances of the case; and
• The objectives of the control are met or are sufficiently addressed; and
• There are sufficient environmental planning grounds to justify the departure; and
• The impacts of the non-compliant proposal will not be significantly greater than a compliant proposal or may enhance the outcome.

This provides a degree of flexibility for developments to provide a better design response to specific and unique site constraints/hazards as well as provide for innovative design solutions.