On 15 December 2023, the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (the Department) published a State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) which takes effect from 1 July 2024. The SEPP introduces changes to the Parramatta Local Environmental Plan 2023 (PLEP 2023) which include increases to Height of Buildings (HOB) and Floor Space Ratio (FSR). These changes require Council to prepare and bring into effect new complimentary development control plan (DCP) controls because Council’s existing controls (currently known as Part 9B – Deferred Area) do not work with the forthcoming changes.
The proposed draft DCP changes ensure the forthcoming SEPP changes which take effect in July, and any applicable DCP controls, work together to achieve an appropriate built form outcome.
The SEPP is explained in a separate question, below.
The Church Street North Precinct area is shown in the figure below:
Figure – Church Street North Precinct (image source: Department of Planning)
The area was removed from Council’s CBD Planning Proposal process in May 2022. The reintegration of this area into the City Centre controls which are housed in Part 7 of Parramatta Local Environmental Plan 2023 (PLEP 2023) and Part 9 of Parramatta Development Control Plan 2023 (PDCP 2023) is consistent with Council’s endorsed position in late 2021 – that the City Centre controls are consolidated on one location in PLEP 2023 and in PDCP 2023.
New State government-led planning controls for the Church Street North Precinct published on the NSW Legislation website amend Parramatta Local Environmental Plan 2023. The instrument bringing the changes into effect is the SEPP (Church Street North Precinct) 2023.
The SEPP:
- Amends various clauses in PLEP 2023 Part 7 Additional local provisions – Parramatta City Centre along with any supporting maps (where necessary) to address changes to zoning, building heights, floor space ratios, heritage, end of journey facilities, high performing building design, sun access, car parking, land reservation acquisitions, relevant authorities, active frontages, dual water, and floodplain risk management.
- Introduces a new local provision (as clause 7.46 Church Street North Precinct in PLEP 2023) for additional height and FSR for sites that meet certain criteria.
The SEPP was published on 15 December 2023 on the NSW Legislation website and takes effect on 1 July 2024. The SEPP was not placed on exhibition.
Council is not seeking feedback on the State Government’s SEPP. If you have any queries in relation to the SEPP or the planning work undertaken by the Department when they prepared the SEPP, you must visit the Department’s Church Street North web page.
No, the State Government’s SEPP has changed some building heights and FSRs in PLEP 2023. These take effect from 1 July 2024. The building height and FSR controls are not part of the exhibition material. Council is not seeking comment on these controls.
The objectives are:
- To ensure that the current Part 9 City Centre DCP controls apply to the Church Street North Precinct as originally intended when the draft City Centre DCP controls were exhibited in late 2021.
- To provide new special area controls that:
- provide additional consideration to blocks situated north of Victoria Road which front Church Street and are adjacent to Heritage Conservation Areas (HCAs). The new special area controls, referred to as ‘Church Street North’ in proposed new Section 9.5.11 of the DCP, respond to the forthcoming building heights and floor space ratios (FSRs),
- identify through site links to improve pedestrian permeability (this is detailed in the section below),
- address heritage transition, heritage alignments and curtilage to the east which is considered necessary where heritage sensitivities are the greatest, and
- identify a new area of civic space fronting Church Street in the block bounded by Harold, Church, Fennell and Villiers Streets, consistent with Council’s Community Infrastructure Strategy.
- To make minor adjustments to:
- site-specific controls affecting 470 Church Street to create an appropriate transition to the North East Planning Investigate Area which flanks the Church Street North Precinct to the east, and
- the controls affecting the North Parramatta Heritage Conservation Area (HCA) in Section 7.10.1 because the SEPP rezones a portion of this HCA from R2 Low Density Residential to MU1 Mixed Use as originally proposed as part of Council’s CBD Planning Proposal.
- To delete some existing controls in Part 9B – Deferred Area of the DCP given they will be no longer relevant from 1 July 2024 when the SEPP takes effect.
- To respond to the Department’s suggestions for new DCP controls contained in their Finalisation Report (Section 4.3 Development Control Plan Recommendations).
In response to new heights, FSRs and place-based bonus mechanisms in the SEPP, special DCP controls have been drafted for the Church Street North Special Area which comprises the blocks fronting Church Street situated north of Victoria Road. Special area controls are considered necessary in this location where heritage sensitivities are the greatest. They include objectives and controls for:
- Heritage transition achieved through specified setbacks and street wall heights,
- Street setbacks defined by prevailing heritage alignments,
- Curtilage and preferred design response for heritage items within the precinct,
- Tower separation to enable views to sky when observed from both the Sorrell Street HCA (east) and North Parramatta HCA (west),
- Identified through-site links and laneways, and
- Preferred site amalgamation pattern to realise the objectives of the special area.
The Parramatta Community Infrastructure Strategy 2020 identifies the need for 1,500sqm of multi-purpose community space in this locality and notes an open space deficit proportionate to the anticipated population growth for this area.
A site on the western side of Church Street between Harold Street and Fennell Street has been identified as a potential location for a future civic space due to its proximity to the Parramatta Light Rail stop. This block is predominately in Council or State Government ownership and may be delivered alongside community floorspace.
Figure – Proposed new civic space
The proposed civic space does not hinder the achievement of the forthcoming FSR control on either landholding.
To assist with the delivery of the civic space, a future amendment to the Height of Buildings Map in Parramatta LEP 2023 which will allocate a 0 metre height limit in the location of the proposed civic space is intended. This will be programmed into the project workplan. Consultation with landowners will be undertaken.
The SEPP (Church Street North Precinct) 2023 rezones a portion of this HCA (edged pink in the image below) from R2 Low Density Residential to MU1 Mixed Use as intended by Council’s CBD Planning Proposal process.
Figure – the portion of the North Parramatta HCA (shown pink) being rezoned to the MU1 zone
Section 7.10.1 of PDCP 2023 contains controls for the North Parramatta HCA (the boundary of the HCA is available in Figure 7.10. 1.1, here: Section 7.10.1 in PDCP 2023). The existing controls only work with residential land uses. However, because the land is being rezoned to the MU1 zone from the 1 July, the provisions need to be amended so they can work with non-residential uses. Therefore, minor adjustments have been made to this section so that non-residential uses are appropriately dealt with.
No other changes are proposed for this section other than those minor changes that deal with this land use issue.
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