FAQs

A Local Environmental Plan (LEP) is the main legal document that guides how land can be used and developed within a Local Government Area. It establishes zoning and development controls that determine where different activities such as housing, commercial uses, industry, recreation and environmental protection can occur. By setting these rules, an LEP provides a local framework that helps shape the long-term future of communities and ensures development happens in a coordinated and appropriate way.

An LEP contains land use zones that outline where particular types of development are permitted or prohibited. It also includes development standards that regulate the scale and form of development, such as maximum building heights, floor space ratios, minimum lot sizes, subdivision requirements and other site-specific controls. In addition, an LEP identifies and protects heritage items, heritage conservation areas, significant trees, environmentally sensitive areas and other important natural and cultural features.

LEPs may be amended to respond to new strategic priorities, support housing or economic development, protect important environmental or heritage values, or reflect changing community needs and state planning policies. 

You can view the Lithgow Local Environmental Plan 2014 online here: Lithgow Local Environmental Plan 2014.

A Development Control Plan (DCP) provides more detailed planning and design guidance that supports and expands on the controls contained in a Council’s Local Environmental Plan. While the LEP sets the legal framework for how land can be used and developed, the DCP explains how development should be designed and carried out to achieve the desired character, environmental outcomes and quality of the local area. It gives applicants practical guidance on matters such as building design, landscaping, site layout, access, parking, environmental management and neighbourhood compatibility.

A DCP is prepared by Council to assist applicants proposing development that will be assessed through the local development application (DA) pathway. It helps ensure that proposals are consistent with Council’s planning objectives and provides a clear understanding of what is expected when preparing a DA.

You can view the Lithgow Development Control Plan 2021 online here: Lithgow Development Control Plan 2021

A planning proposal is a document (including supporting information) that explains the intended effect of a proposed LEP or proposed amendments to an LEP. It describes the intended outcomes, identifies and assesses the potential impacts that the changes to the LEP may have and provides justifications for making the LEP. A planning proposal forms the formal process through which a Local Environmental Plan is amended.

Under S.25 & S.26 of the Local Government Act 1993 (LG Act), all public land must be classified as either community land or operational land.

• Community land – is land council makes available for use by the general public, for example, parks, reserves or sports grounds.
• Operational land – is land which facilitates the functions of council, and may not be open to the general public, for example, a works depot or council garage.

The purpose of classification is to identify clearly that land made available for use by the general public (community) and that land which need not (operational). How public land is classified determines the ease or difficulty a council can have dealings in public land, including its sale, leasing or licensing. It also provides for transparency in council’s strategic asset management or disposal of public land.

Reclassification of public land occurs when the land is changed from community to operation and vice versa. Depending on circumstances, public land can be reclassified through the following pathways:

• council resolution under S.31, 32, or 33 (through LG Act s.27(2)), or
• an LEP under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act (through LG Act s.27(1)).

The following Council-owned properties will be reclassified from Community to Operational land:

• Lake Lyell - Lot 1 DP 246233,
• Lake Lyell - Lot 5 DP 1304125,
• Queen Elizabeth Park – Part Lot 2 DP 1077295, and
• Lithgow Union Theatre – Part Lot 45 DP 1096536.

Maps showing the location and area of the above-mentioned lands are located within Appendix 6 of the Housekeeping Planning Proposal Document.

The general purpose for the reclassification is generally to correct historical anomalies, inaccessibility for public use, and encroachments from nearby developments.

No. Residents cannot request a rezoning through the Housekeeping Planning Proposal. Housekeeping amendments are limited to minor, technical updates and do not involve the detailed strategic assessment required for rezoning or other land-use changes.

If you are seeking a rezoning of your land, or any other change to land-use controls, Council has begun work on the Lithgow Growth Management Strategy (GMS). The GMS will be Council’s long-term planning framework guiding how the Lithgow LGA grows and changes over the next 20 years. It will coordinate housing, employment, infrastructure, and environmental considerations to ensure growth occurs in the right places and at the right time.

While the GMS will not directly rezone land, it will provide the strategic foundation for future Planning Proposals. This means that once the GMS is complete, it will be easier and more transparent to progress rezoning proposals that align with the strategy.

If you wish to get involved or learn more about the Lithgow Growth Management Strategy, please visit Council’s webpage here: https://www.letstalksevenvalleys.com.au/gms