This public exhibition has now concluded.

Project information

Central Coast Council prepared a draft Planning Proposal for the Deferred Lands/Deferred Matters and placed it on public exhibition.

The Deferred Lands are located east of the M1 Pacific Motorway, south of Ourimbah and are those lands excluded on the Central Coast Local Environmental Plan 2022 Land Application Map.

The Deferred Matters Lands Planning Proposal aims to incorporate the Deferred Lands into the Central Coast Local Environmental Plan 2022 (CCLEP 2022) assigning ‘like for like’ zoning and development standards based on the existing zones and environmental attributes.

The Standard Instrument (Local Environmental Plans) Order 2006 requires all Local Environmental Plans to be standardised across NSW. A number of zone provisions in the current Interim Development Order and Gosford Planning Scheme Ordinance planning instruments do not align wholly with the provisions in the CCLEP 2022. The lands have been excluded from the CCLEP 2022 up to this point to allow further assessment of the most appropriate equivalent zone under the CCLEP 2022.

The review was informed by a Deferred Lands Land Use Assessment and was guided by the Department of Planning Practice Note on applying Environmental Protection Zones. The proposal addresses actions within the Central Coast Regional Plan 2041 and Council’s Local Strategic Planning Statement and is consistent with the Community Strategic Plan.

The Minister for Planning and Public Spaces is the Local Plan Making Authority for this Planning Proposal.

Have your say

Between 11 October and 15 November 2023, we sought community feedback and encouraged written submissions. Council invited the community to find out more of the draft Deferred Lands Planning Proposal by:

Wednesday 18 October 2023, hosted at the Erina Centre (located next to Erina Library near The Hive at Erina Fair)

Thursday 19 October 2023, hosted at the Erina Centre (located next to Erina Library near The Hive at Erina Fair)

Tuesday 31 October 2023, hosted at the Erina Centre (located next to Erina Library near The Hive at Erina Fair)

    • Online

Monday 23 October 2023, Wednesday 25 October 2023, Thursday 26 October 2023 and Monday 30 October 2023 online via Teams

Should you have any questions or need to discuss your property with the project team, please use the email address available in the 'contact us' widget on this page or contact Council's customer service centre on 4306 7900.

Closing the loop

Following the feedback received during public exhibition, Council staff reviewed all submissions and prepared a report on the outcome of the public exhibition process for Council's consideration. It was presented to Council at the 28 May 2024 Council Meeting - Item 2.5 Outcomes of Public Exhibition for the Deferred Matters Lands Planning Proposal.

Those who made submissions were notified prior to the Council Report being considered.

A total of 328 submissions were received during the public exhibition period, with a total of 230 objections to the proposal, and 79 in support. The following were some of the recurrent themes in submissions:

  • Support for the permissibility of secondary dwellings and dual occupancy development with consent allowing for additional rental housing where appropriate.
  • Concern regarding the constrained application of the highest conservation zone (C2) over vegetated land and the criteria used to establish zone boundaries.
  • Concern regarding changes to land use permissibility as the land moves from old zonings to the modern controls under CCLEP 2022.Concern regarding some currently permissible land uses now being prohibited and landowners needing to rely on existing use rights.

The Planning Proposal was supported by Council. As the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces was the Local Plan Making Authority for this Planning Proposal, it was progressed to the Department of Planning Housing and Infrastructure for approval and finalisation.

The amendment to Central Coast LEP 2022 as an outcome of the approval of the Planning Proposal came into effect 9 May 2025.

The completion of this process resulted in:

  • Consistent LEP controls for all land across the Central Coast, (outside of Gosford City Centre which remains subject to a State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP);
    • secondary dwellings and dual occupancy now permissible with Council consent on specified rural residential land as it currently is under CCLEP for similar land. This will potentially provide additional rental housing or allow landowners to age in place and help alleviate housing issues that are currently being experienced across the Coast.
    • any new development will require approval and will need to comply with the relevant plans and regulations such as the Biodiversity Conservation Act and Council’s polices regarding issues such as bushfire, flooding and on-site sewer management.
  • Central Coast Development Control Plan (DCP) Chapter 3.5 Tree and Vegetation Management is now applying to the Deferred Matters Lands. This coincides with Council assuming the role as the responsible authority for land clearing or similar activities on the Deferred Matters Lands. This role is currently the responsibility of Local Land Services (LLS). This will allow Council to be more responsive to reports of illegal land clearing or similar activities;
    • land with identified high environmental value being zoned C2 Environmental Conservation effectively prohibiting development on such land where development is currently permissible. This zoning has already been applied to the Council owned Coastal Open Space System (COSS) land in and around the Deferred Matters Lands area. In the future Council will look to refine or expand the coverage of this mapping to provide greater certainty for landowners and the community.

The revised mapping for CCLEP 2022 can be accessed here.