Planning instruments are the key tools used by local government to guide development and land-use planning in NSW. Listed below are links to key planning documents for NSW. The instruments derive their powers from NSW legislation.
- State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPPs)
- Regional Environment Plans (REPs)
- Local Environment Plans (LEPs)
- Development Control Plans (DCPs)
The NSW Department of Planning website provides an overview of NSW planning legislation and planning tools.
iPlan is the NSW Government online gateway to a large number of land use planning documents.
The Departmenf of Local Government provides maps of Local Government Boundaries (maps) and links to all local government bodies in NSW.
The Department of Planning also develops a range of 'strategic planning policies' and strategies for metropolitan and regional development, such as the Sydney Metropolitan Strategy and Lower Hunter Regional Strategy.
NSW State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPPs)
- NSW SEPP's (html)
NSW Regional Environmental Plans (REPs)
- NSW REP's (html)
Local Environment Plans (LEPs)
Local Environmental Plans are prepared by councils to guide planning decisions for local government areas. They aim to use zoning and development controls to allow councils to supervise the ways in which land is used. Development control plans, prepared in accordance with the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, are also used to help achieve the objectives of the local plan by providing specific, comprehensive requirements for certain types of development or locations eg for urban design, and heritage precincts and properties.
- Local environmental plans are available online.
Search the NSW Government's "in force" legislation and:
- select "EPIs in Force" (EPI is short for 'Environmental Planning Instrument'),
- with the exact phrase "local environmental plan", and
- selecting search in title.
Development Control Plans
- NSW Development Control Plans (Google)
- See also Water Sensitive Urban Design Planning Instruments for links to DCPs that contain WSUD provisions (as of early 2008).
Overview of the Natural Resource Management planning context for water in NSW
We suggest checking in with yourself to see where these plans leave you comfortable and uneasy ... This is a practical application of 'listening to ourselves' - allowing our tacit, implicit, knowledge ... our 'feel' for what is going on to inform what we do ... As Polanyi, Gendlin and others have underlined, we each know more than it is easy to say.
For more on how to 'use gut feel skillfully', see Listening to ourselves.
Do these plans make ecological sense? What will their ecological outcomes be? |
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Who wins and who loses with these plans as they are? |
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Are these plans delivering on catchment, water cycle and stormwater management objectives? |
Existing land and water management plans (NSW) |
Are these plans having the ecological and socio-economic outcomes that were intended? |
