Pre-Lodgement Services

Call 4974 2000 to book your appointment. 

Appointments are available either over the phone or in person at our City Adminstration Centre at 12 Stewart Avenue, Newcastle. 

If attending the appointment in person, please ensure you arrive five minutes prior to the appointment time to avoid delays. 

To ensure you make the most of your time with the Duty Offer, it is recommended that you review the Local Environmental Plan (LEP) maps applicable to the site and relevant sections of the Development Control Plan.

No – this is a free service provided by CN.

When preparing an application, the Duty Officer can provide general advice about planning controls, application requirements and fees, and minor developments.

For more detailed advice, a Pre-Development Application can be lodged. Please see below for more information.

Alternatively, you may wish to seek advice externally from a planning consultant. 

Complete a Pre-DA form and supply the following electronic documentation:

• concept plan (drawn to scale)
• elevations
• photographs of the site and the surrounding streetscape (highly recommended but not essential).

Additionally, for developments excluding single dwelling houses, please also supply: 

• a brief description of all development options considered
• a statement describing the proposal and comparison with controls. It is recommended this is presented in a table format comparing the proposal to CN's codes, policies and planning instruments.

In all cases, you should detail key issues in your application form. This will allow CN to arrange the appropriate specialistic CN Officers to attend your Pre-DA meeting (where applicable).

Your Pre-DA will be allocated to an available Development Officer (Planning) to assess the information provided and provide advice by way of a letter, identifying any relevant issues to be addressed. 

Should a meeting be requested, a CN Officer will arrange a time to meet with you to discuss the proposal. Depending on the nature and scale of your development, specialist CN Officers from relevant disciplines will attend the meeting to give you advice tailored to your proposed development. This meeting will be undertaken prior to you receiving the written advice.

Within 21 days of the application being lodged, you will receive written advice that outlines:

1. The statutory matters that will be considered during the assessment of a DA, including classification of development according to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act (the Act), options for integrated development, applicable planning controls, submission requirements and methods of determination that apply to the proposal.
    
2. Specific matters that are considered to warrant further detail, consideration or amendments prior to the submission of a DA.

Yes - for further information on the applicable application fees, refer to CN's Fees and Charges.

This service should be used for: 

• complex sites
• key sites
• any development where variation to one or more planning controls is sought
• multi-dwelling housing, residential flat building, shop-top housing, seniors housing, affordable housing, boarding house, co-living housing, group homes, hostels
• backpackers accommodation, hotel or motel accommodation, serviced apartments
• mixed-use developments
• significant developments (developments with a value of $10mil +) 
• designated development 
• any development which by its nature or scale is of a contentious nature/ and/ or likely to have significant social/ economic impacts on the community 
• subdivision proposal (resulting in 4+ lots)
• where a competitive design process is required.

The NSW Planning Portal is a tool managed by the Department of Planning that provides a variety of information including:

• Access to planning controls (i.e. zoning, height controls, heritage, mine subsidence) and legislation that applies to properties across the State, including the Newcastle LGA

• Information on building or renovating
• Access to planning tools e.g. BASIX

Using the portal to identify a property and accessing the relevant planning controls will assist you in preparing an application for CN.

The development potential of your site is determined by its characteristics and the planning controls that apply to it. Information specific to Newcastle LGA can be found on our Land Use Planning pages.

This information is summarised on the e-Planning Spatial Viewer located on the NSW Planning Portal providing an overview of the planning controls and legislation that applies to properties across the State, including the Newcastle LGA.

CN's Local Environmental Plan (LEP) and Development Control Plan (DCP) provide guidance to the form of acceptable development.

To understand the Newcastle LEP 2012 both the written document and maps that make up the LEP must be reviewed. This information is summarised on the Planning Portal providing an overview of the planning controls and legislation that applies to properties across the State, including the Newcastle LGA

Alternatively a link to LEP maps relating to each suburb can be found:

• on the right hand side of each suburb page
• on the official NSW Legislation website in connection with the Newcastle LEP 2012.

The maps referred to in the Newcastle LEP 2012 are listed below. The map name consists of:

1. An alpha prefix identifying the map type (e.g. land zoning, floor space ratio, height of buildings, etc) and
2. An alpha numeric number identifying its location in the city of Newcastle. Once you have identified the applicable map number (e.g. 004C) it will be the same for each map type.

The available maps from the LEP are listed below, more information and a brief explanation of their application can be found here. The ‘key’ to the maps are located within the left hand column of each individual map.

• The Land Zoning (Map Prefix: LZN_)
• Floor Space Ratio (FSR) (Map Prefix: FSR_)
• Height of Buildings (Map Prefix: HOB_)
• Lot Size (Map Prefix: LSZ_)
• Heritage (Map Prefix: HER_)
• Acid Sulfate Soils (Map Prefix: ASS_)
• Wickham Redevelopment Area (Map Prefix: WRA_)
• Land Reservation Acquisition (Map Prefix: LRA_)
• Newcastle City Centre – 'Key Site' (Map Prefix: CL1_)
• Urban Release (Map Prefix: URA_)

The above information is also available by purchasing a Section 10.7 - Planning Certificate for the parcel of land.
 

The DCP also provides guidelines to enable you to prepare your development application. The most commonly referred to include:

• Section 3.02 Single Dwelling
• Section 3.03 Dual Occupancy and Semi-Detached Dwellings
• Section 4.01 Flood Management
• Section 7.03 Traffic, Parking and Access
• Section 7.06 Stormwater

Does the development fit into the streetscape? Will the neighbouring properties be impacted by overshadowing, a loss of privacy?

It is advised to discuss the application with your neighbours prior to finalising your design. Early discussions with your neighbours will give you the opportunity to explain your plans and resolve any concerns, reducing the likelihood of delays in the processing of the application.

Determine what issues may impact on the ability to develop the property. Typical issues include:

• Bushfire zones
• Flooding - apply for a Flood Information Certificate
• Coastal impacts (properties impacted include some coastal properties in Stockton and Merewether)
• Mines Subsidence - District Map
• Easements
• Contamination
• Geo-technical restrictions
• Hunter Water Requirements
• Acid sulphate soils
• Environmental protections management
• Locality specific provisions 
• Stormwater

A Section 10.7 certificate shows the zoning of the property, its relevant state, regional and local planning controls and other property constraints such as land contamination, level of flooding and bushfire prone land. You can apply for and purchase a Section 10.7 Planning Certificate directly from CN.

Alternatively check the maps on CN's web pages. The development should be designed taking into consideration any land constraints.

Restrictions are placed on the airspace within 15km of Newcastle Airport to maintain the integrity of the airspace of the airport. Permission must be requested to the Department of Defence to erect tall structures and cranes having a height exceeding 30 metres above ground level.

For more information see The Operation of Cranes and Tall Structures in the Vicinity of Newcastle Airport (PDF).
 

Contact details

RAAF BASE WILLIAMTOWN

Air Base Command Post

Phone: 02 4034 5888

Email: wlm.abcp@defence.gov.au