Draft ‘Harmonisation’ Parramatta Development Control Plan

A Development Control Plan (DCP) provides detailed planning and design guidelines to deliver the land uses (i.e. zoning) that are permitted under a Local Environmental Plan (LEP).

We have prepared an information sheet that explains key planning terminology to help the community understand the roles of the Development Control Plan (DCP), and associated Local Environmental Plan (LEP), and how they apply together to inform land use and development.

Please see Planning Information Sheet to find out more.

The Draft ‘Harmonisation’ Parramatta Development Control Plan (Draft DCP) is the final component of the Land Use Planning Harmonisation Framework.

The Draft DCP consolidates, or ‘harmonises’, the following DCPs that continued to apply across the City of Parramatta following the council boundary changes in May 2016:

• Parramatta DCP 2011
• Auburn DCP 2010
• The Hills DCP 2012
• Holroyd DCP 2013
• Hornsby DCP 2013

Council has prepared the Draft DCP to consolidate the existing policy from these five former Council DCPs and deliver one set of planning objectives and controls for development in the LGA.

Please see Community Summary sheet to find out more.

Following Council boundary changes in May 2016, the City of Parramatta inherited parts of the former council areas of Auburn, Holroyd, Hornsby, Parramatta, and The Hills. This resulted in different rules applying to different parts of the LGA, with five Local Environmental Plans (LEPs) and nine Development Control Plans (DCPs) in effect. The Land Use Planning Harmonisation Framework resolves differences between these plans to create a new consolidated set of rules within one LEP and DCP. The ‘Harmonisation’ Parramatta LEP and DCP will deliver a clear and more consistent set of planning controls for the new City of Parramatta.

Please see Land Use Planning Framework for more information.

As explained in the Planning Information Sheet, a DCP does not control or determine land zoning, building height or Floor Space Ratio – these planning controls are in the LEP.

In other words, a DCP does not control what can be built on land (e.g. dual occupancy, town houses, or retail development) as this is determined by the zoning in the LEP.

Therefore, the draft DCP does not impact on the land uses permissible on your property.

Instead, the draft DCP provides the detailed controls for how the land uses permitted on your property via the LEP can be built on the land. The draft DCP provides guidelines that need to be addressed as part of the design and development application process.

Once finalised, the new DCP will replace the existing DCP that applies to your property with the following exceptions:

• If you live in Sydney Olympic Park, the draft DCP has no impact as the land within this area is subject to separate planning controls managed by the Sydney Olympic Park Authority.
• If you live in Homebush Bay West, Wentworth Point, or Carter Street Precinct, the draft DCP will apply in addition to precinct specific ‘stand alone’ DCPs (see ‘What is a stand-alone DCP’ below).

In addition to the five former Council DCPs, there are four standalone DCPs managed by the State Government that do not form part of the draft Harmonisation DCP:

• Homebush Bay West DCP 2004 – Volume 1 & Volume 2
• Homebush Bay West DCP (Amendment 1) 2013
• Wentworth Point DCP (Amendment 1) 2014
• Carter Street Development Framework 2020

These DCPs continue to remain as ‘stand-alone’ DCPs. They are part of State Government initiated policy frameworks and support State policy including State Environmental Planning Policy (Precincts – Central River City) which carried across Sydney Regional Environmental Plan 24 – Homebush Bay.

However, Council is also exhibiting administrative ‘non-policy’ changes to the stand-alone DCPs for Wentworth Point and Homebush Bay West. These include updating references to the former Auburn City Council and other non-policy changes to reflect the land transferred into the new City of Parramatta.

Following the public exhibition, the administrative amendments proposed for the stand-alone DCPs will then be forwarded to the DPE who will need to legally finalise the proposed changes.

For more information on these changes see Community Summary Sheet and the draft DCPs in the exhibition material.

Council adopted savings and transitional arrangements to assist with managing the development assessment process for Development Applications during the transition between the current five DCPs and the new consolidated draft DCP coming into effect.

Part 1.4 of the draft DCP includes a savings and transitional arrangements provision:

If a development application has been lodged before the commencement of the draft DCP in relation to land to which the draft DCP applies, and the development application has not been finally determined before the commencement of the draft DCP, the development application must be determined as if the draft DCP had not commenced.

This means that any Development Applications lodged with Council before the formal adoption of the new DCP will continue to be assessed and determined based on the existing DCP that applies to the land.

Council officers will review the feedback received from the community and report back to Council on the outcome of the public exhibition, and request Council to adopt the DCP (subject to any amendments and whether they trigger re-exhibition of the DCP).

Any matters that are raised during the exhibition period and identified as matters outside of the project scope are anticipated to be dealt with as part of a future review, following approval of the DCP.

After Council adopts the DCP, the DCP will be notified (published) on Council’s website and that is the date the DCP comes into effect. The DCP will then be used to assess new development applications lodged after the adoption of the DCP.

The former five Council DCPs will be repealed and no longer apply within the City of Parramatta, with only one set of controls applying to the majority of the City.

Part 9 of the Draft DCP will contain the controls that apply to the Parramatta City Centre. The Parramatta City Centre is subject to a separate planning process outside of the Land Use Planning Harmonisation Framework project.

As part of the finalisation of the Parramatta City Centre LEP (formerly the Parramatta CBD Planning Proposal), the Department of Planning and Environment removed proposed controls for Parramatta North, Parramatta Park, Phillip Street Block, and Auto Alley. The exclusion of these areas resulted in different controls applying to different parts of the Parramatta City Centre, detailed in the figure below.

Part 9A of the draft DCP will contain the DCP controls that are currently contained within Part 6 – Parramatta City Centre of Parramatta DCP 2011, specifically the area situated south of Parramatta River (including Phillip Street Block and the Park Edge Highly Sensitive Area). These DCP controls apply to the land included in the finalised Parramatta City Centre Planning Proposal, and came into effect on 2 December 2022.

Part 9B of the draft DCP will contain the DCP controls that are currently contained within Section 4.3.3 Parramatta City Centre – Deferred Area of Parramatta DCP 2011 (and apply to the are shaded grey in the figure below). This section has been revised on account of being excluded from the finalised Parramatta City Centre LEP. Due to this area’s exclusion, the Department of Planning and Environment is currently undertaking an investigation of North Parramatta. This may result in future changes to this section of the DCP. It is envisaged that once the new DCP controls for North Parramatta are finalised and endorsed by Council (not likely to commence before completion of the North Parramatta Place Strategy) Parts 9A and 9B will be consolidated into a single Part consistent with Part 7 of PLEP 2023.

The Draft DCP (as exhibited) does not contain any changes to any Parramatta City Centre DCP controls, including the excluded areas. As part of the finalisation of the Draft DCP, Council officers anticipate that there may be administrative updates within Part 9 to ensure that the final DCP is consistent and up to date as required.

Melrose Park Urban Renewal Precinct is subject to a separate planning process outside of the Harmonisation project. Melrose Park Urban Renewal Precinct includes areas known as Melrose Park North and Melrose Park South.

Melrose Park North is part of the finalised Amendment 59 to the former Parramatta LEP 2011 which is supported by a Council endorsed site-specific DCP.

Melrose Park South is part of the finalised Amendment 67 to the former Parramatta LEP 2011 which is supported by a Council endorsed site-specific DCP.

Both LEP amendments contain deferred commencement clauses. This means that the LEP planning controls and site-specific DCPs will come into effect after the deferred commencement period ends.

Part 8.2.6 of the Draft DCP will contain the controls that apply to Melrose Park Urban Renewal Precinct.

The Draft DCP does not contain any changes to the recently finalised DCP controls for Melrose Park North and Melrose Park South as adopted by Council.

As part of the finalisation of the Draft DCP, Council officers anticipate that there may be some minor administrative/drafting updates within Part 8.2.6 to ensure that the final DCP is consistent and up to date as required. These changes will not alter the intent or effect of any of the adopted planning provisions.

The State Government’s Employment Zones Reform has resulted in further changes to the standard instrument. The Employment Zones Reform replaces the former Business (B) and Industrial (IN) zones and introduces new employment zones that will come into effect across NSW on 26 April 2023.

However, the City of Parramatta is one of the first Council areas to implement the new zones as these were introduced as part of the commencement of the new Parramatta LEP 2023 on 2 March 2023.

These new employment zones, as set out by the Parramatta LEP 2023, are summarised below: