Consultation outcomes
on the North and Middle Harbour Estuarine Planning Level Study
We have reviewed all 935 submissions received in response to the public exhibition of the Conservation Zones Review and Technical Studies.
The main aim of this exhibition was to seek feedback on a draft methodology for the use of Conservation Zones across the Northern Beaches.
You can read the Consultation Report below which summarises the key issues and Council’s response to this feedback. You can also view the redacted submissions received through the public exhibition. The snapshot is also a great overview of the issues raised.
If you have any questions about this study or the consultation outcomes, please call the Strategic and Place Planning Team on 1300 434 434.
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Snapshot Consultation Report
A brief summary of the engagement approach and issues raised in the submissions
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Consultation Report
The detailed Community Engagement and Stakeholder Consultation Report
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Submissions
(Updated 30 March 2023) The file may take some time to load due to size (approx. 300mb). Personal details and inappropriate language have been redacted where possible. Read our privacy policy for more information.
Next steps
We anticipate many of the issues raised can be resolved by potential changes to the draft methodology which Council is currently investigating.
Where areas of dispute remain about the accuracy of Council mapping of criteria used in the review, we will engage relevant consultants and contact those landowners who have requested a site inspection.
We are expecting to commence site visits from May 2023.
We are also meeting with the Department of Planning and Environment to discuss the Review, the submissions received, and possible changes. This is important because the Department will have the final say about any proposed zoning changes resulting from the Review.
The outcomes from the Review will help us develop a draft Northern Beaches Local Environmental Plan and Development Control Plan, which will be presented to Council and exhibited for community feedback in 2024.
We will continue to keep you updated.
Engagement history
We are creating one new planning framework that will guide and manage future development in the Northern Beaches. This is a requirement of the NSW government.
Our planning framework is made up of a Local Environmental Plan (LEP) which is used to control development of land in a Local Government Area and a Development Control Plan (DCP) which provides detailed local planning and design guidelines to support the planning controls in the LEP. A new LEP and DCP for the Northern Beaches will provide a clearer, simpler and fairer set of planning rules.
To establish these rules, we have carried out several technical studies to identify the issues and recommend controls for specific environmental characteristics. Outputs from this technical study have also been used to inform the identification of draft Conservation Zones for inclusion in a future Northern Beaches LEP.
One of those studies is the Draft North and Middle Harbour Estuarine Planning Levels Study. The study and its associated maps provide a consistent and evidence-based approach to mapping estuarine inundation risk across the LGA during extreme but rare storm events, for affected properties, under both existing and future sea level conditions. The mapping will be included in the new Northern Beaches LEP/DCP to ensure land use policy responses and development controls address estuarine inundation.
Your feedback on our Draft North and Middle Harbour Estuarine Planning Levels Study will help us understand if we have got the right balance of due diligence and avoiding difficult development application requirements.
Snapshot of the study
Estuarine planning level (EPL) studies define the estuarine inundation (also referred to as coastal inundation) risk during extreme but rare storm events, for affected properties, under both existing and future sea level conditions.
The Draft North and Middle Harbour Estuarine Planning Levels Study prepared by Rhelm Pty Ltd covers the foreshore areas of Manly, Fairlight, Balgowlah Heights, Clontarf, Seaforth and Killarney Heights. Land uses in the study area include national park, public recreation, residential and commercial.
Northern Beaches Council has a responsibility to manage coastal hazard risks under the Coastal Management Act 2016 and State Environmental Planning Policy (Resilience and Hazards) 2021. This includes strategic planning as well as applying planning provisions and development controls to reduce risks to the natural and built environments for current and future coastal hazards. Estuarine inundation is one type of coastal hazard.
Northern Beaches Council uses estuarine inundation mapping to identify foreshore properties that are subject to estuarine inundation. Estuarine inundation mapping is also used to establish appropriate floor levels for new development and identifies properties requiring hazard disclosures on planning certificates.
The study uses the same approach and methodology as the previous Pittwater EPL Study, mapping all properties affected by estuarine inundation.
The outcomes of the study include:
- New proposed estuarine inundation maps for inclusion in the Northern Beaches LEP/DCP
- Specific estuarine planning levels for development for affected properties, under both existing and future sea level conditions.
The study and associated maps provide a consistent and evidence-based approach to mapping estuarine inundation across the LGA. The mapping will be included in the new Northern Beaches LEP/DCP to ensure land use policy responses and development controls address estuarine inundation.
Development controls may include:
- Raising floor levels for new development, in particular residential dwellings, above the EPL (similar to a flood planning level).
- Ensuring that all structural elements below the EPL are flood compatible.
- Designing and constructing buildings to have a low risk of damage from wave action and estuarine inundation.
- Ensuring that all electrical equipment, wiring, service pipes and utilities are raised or waterproofed to the EPL.
- Not permitting storage below the EPL of toxic or potentially polluting goods and materials which may be hazardous or pollute the waterways.
Do the maps and proposed development controls strike the right balance to ensure due diligence for estuarine risk is carried out whilst avoiding onerous development application requirements?
Read more about the technical studies that informed the Conservation Zones Review
Our Conservation Zones Review has been informed by a series of technical studies that identify areas with high environmental value and significant environmental hazards.
You can find out more about
each of the technical studies by clicking on the boxes below.
Have a question?
To learn more about this study, please contact:
| Name | Strategic and Place Planning |
|---|---|
| Phone | 1300 434 434 (during business hours) |
| council@northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au | |
| Website | www.northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au |
| In writing | Marked 'North and Middle Harbour Estuarine Planning Levels Study', Northern Beaches Council, PO Box 82 Manly NSW 1655. |
