Consultation has concluded.

We are proposing changes to the planning controls that apply to the Central Precinct of the St Marys Release Area. The aim of these changes is to increase the choice of housing and its affordability.

Background

The St Marys Release Area is split into several precincts, including three residential precincts. These residential precincts are known as the East, West and Central Precincts. The East and West precincts are substantially developed and now form the respective suburbs of Ropes Crossing and Jordan Springs. The development of the Central Precinct, located between Jordan springs and Ropes Crossing is underway.

Current Planning Controls

The document managing the development of the Release Area is Sydney Regional Environmental Plan No. 30 – St Marys (SREP 30). This document, in a similar fashion to Council’s local environmental plan, sets land use zones and planning processes to ensure that the desired social, environmental and economic outcomes for the release area are achieved.

SREP 30 requires a Precinct Plan, a document like Council’s development control plan, to be created for each precinct. The current Precinct Plan came into force in September 2018, updating the original 2009 document, and sets out the development outcomes for the precinct. This includes the number of new homes (1,450), the location of the shopping centre, and the street network.

Proposed Planning Controls

The proposed changes, set out in an Amending Precinct Plan, increase the diversity and mix of new residential lots and dwellings in certain parts of the Central Precinct. The aim of these changes is to deliver a range of housing options that were not envisaged or in demand when this Precinct was originally planned in 2009. These changes will provide homes for a broader range of demographic groups, for example smaller households. They will also improve affordability, as the smaller dwelling types will have different price brackets.

The changes will apply to the areas yet to be subdivided that have easy access to the shopping centre, or a high-level of amenity, such as those surrounding local parks.

The changes include:

• Increasing the types of homes to include terraces, manor homes (3-4 units with the appearance of a large house), and granny flats or studio apartments.
• Allowing multi-unit developments such as terraces and townhouses on Strata Title lots down to 125m².
• Promoting the construction of terraces and townhouses on Torrens Title lots (house and land packages) instead of Strata Title lots, reducing ongoing fees for new home owners.
• Reducing the standard lot size for detached dwellings, currently 270m², to 225m2.

The changes will also permit the construction of a 2-storey home with a double garage on lots that are 10 metres or wider across the entire Central Precinct.

The changes are contained in a single chapter: Chapter 5 - Development Control Strategy (736 KB) (pdf). This Chapter is supported by a new Draft Appendix D - Dwelling Typologies (8.48MB) (pdf). All other appendices remain unchanged; these can be viewed on our current planning controls webpage or with the important links provided to the right of this page.

The Public Exhibition

The draft Amending Precinct Plan was publicly exhibited for 28 days from 12 November to 10 December 2018 at Council’s Civic Centre and Library, Penrith. It was supported by a Fact Sheet (250 KB) (pdf) on the changes and guidance on how to make a submission. A copy of the exhibition material can be downloaded from the Document Library on the right.

Council officers will be available to answer questions on the draft Amending Precinct Plan at the Civic Centre (Monday-Friday). Alternatively, please contact Matthew Rose on (02) 4732 7703 or at matthew.rose@penrith.city.