Statement of Environmental Effects

the subject site

Prepared by: Perry Town Planning NSW (AI draft — registered planner review pending) Report type: NSW Application-Grade SEE — Single Dwelling Date: June 2025 Status: DRAFT — For planner review and client verification before lodgement

> Important notice: Where the customer's brief did not supply a specific fact, this draft inserts a reasonable assumption for a typical residential lot in Wamberal on the Central Coast. Every assumption is tagged [Assumption — verify against survey / DCP / LEP]. No assumed number should be presented to council unchecked. The reviewing planner must verify all tagged items against the survey, architectural plans, LEP mapping, Section 10.7 certificate, and BASIX certificate before lodgement.

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1. Introduction

This Statement of Environmental Effects (SEE) supports a Development Application (DA) for the demolition of existing improvements and construction of a new two-storey single dwelling with associated site works, driveway, landscaping and swimming pool at the subject site [Assumption — verify: proposal description was not supplied by the customer; planner to confirm the full scope of works, number of storeys, and whether demolition of existing structures is included].

The subject site is identified as (lot/plan reference redacted) [Assumption — verify Lot and DP number against title search], within the Central Coast Local Government Area (LGA). The applicant is [Applicant name — to be inserted].

This SEE is prepared under Part 4 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) (EP&A Act) and addresses all matters for consideration under section 4.15 of that Act. The document is structured around the seven heads of consideration in section 4.15(1), covering provisions of applicable environmental planning instruments (EPIs), development control plans (DCPs), the EP&A Regulation 2021, likely impacts, site suitability, public submissions, and the public interest.

The applicable statutory framework is the Central Coast Local Environmental Plan 2022 (CCLEP 2022), the Central Coast Development Control Plan 2022 (CCDCP 2022), and applicable State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPPs) including the State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021, State Environmental Planning Policy (Resilience and Hazards) 2021, State Environmental Planning Policy (Sustainable Buildings) 2022, and State Environmental Planning Policy (Biodiversity and Conservation) 2021.

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2. Site Description

2.1 Location and lot characteristics

The site is located within the Central Coast LGA, approximately 2.5 km north-east of Terrigal town centre and within walking distance of Wamberal Lagoon and the Wamberal Beach coastal foreshore.

The lot is irregular in shape with a frontage of approximately 15 m to the subject site, a depth of approximately 40 m, and a total area to be confirmed [Assumption — verify all lot dimensions and area against current survey; Wamberal residential lots along this street vary; confirm with registered surveyor's plan]. The site falls gently from the street to the rear boundary at a grade of approximately 3–5%, falling to the east [Assumption — verify orientation and slope from survey].

2.2 Existing improvements

The site is currently improved by an existing single-storey dwelling of fibrous cement construction, consistent with the post-war residential character of the street, together with a detached garage and covered pergola [Assumption — verify existing structures against council records and site inspection; the proposed demolition extent is unconfirmed]. All existing structures are proposed to be demolished to facilitate the new dwelling [Assumption].

2.3 Surrounding development context

The surrounding streetscape context of the subject site, Wamberal is characterised by a mix of original single-storey fibrous cement and brick dwellings from the 1950s–1970s alongside more recently constructed two-storey rendered brick and lightweight-cladding dwellings reflecting a gradual transition in building scale. Ridge heights on newer dwellings in the immediate locality are generally in the range of 7.0–8.5 m above natural ground level [Assumption — verify by streetscape survey].

Neighbours:

• North boundary: Residential allotment with a single or two-storey dwelling [Assumption — verify]
• South boundary: Residential allotment with a single or two-storey dwelling [Assumption — verify]
• East (rear): Residential allotment facing the street behind [Assumption — verify rear neighbour alignment]
• West (front): the subject site road reserve; residential dwellings opposite the street

2.4 Vegetation

The site contains [number] trees [Assumption — number, species, and approximate trunk diameter to be confirmed against arborist's report and council's tree register]. No trees are understood to be listed under Schedule 1 of the CCDCP 2022 tree preservation provisions, but this must be verified against council's vegetation mapping and any 88B instrument restrictions [Assumption — verify]. Any tree removal will require separate arboricultural assessment in accordance with AS 4970-2009.

2.5 Easements and encumbrances

A right of carriageway or drainage easement may exist along the rear or side boundary [Assumption — verify against current title search and 88B instrument; no documents were supplied confirming the absence of easements]. The SEE is prepared on the assumption that no easements conflict with the proposed building envelope.

2.6 Hazard constraints

Wamberal is identified as a coastal locality in proximity to an active erosion coastline. Wamberal Beach has been subject to significant documented coastal erosion and the Central Coast Council has adopted a Coastal Zone Management Plan for the Wamberal area. The site's position relative to the coastal hazard line must be confirmed against council's hazard mapping and the Coastal Management Act 2016 CZMP [Assumption — coastal hazard status to be verified by client / planner against council's mapping and Section 10.7 certificate; the site may sit within a coastal hazard zone or coastal environment area].

The Section 10.7(2) certificate for the property should be reviewed to confirm whether the site carries the following notations:

• Coastal wetlands or littoral rainforest
• Coastal management area (Coastal Use Area / Coastal Environment Area / Coastal Hazard Area)
• Bushfire prone land
• Flood liable land
• Acid sulfate soils class

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3. The Proposal

[Important: The customer did not supply a proposal description, architectural plans, or BASIX certificate. The following description is drafted on the basis of a representative single-dwelling proposal typical for the Wamberal locality. All dimensions, areas, and design attributes must be verified and corrected by the planner before lodgement.]

The proposal involves:

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4. Planning Controls Applying

4.1 Zone

The land is zoned R2 Low Density Residential under the Central Coast Local Environmental Plan 2022 (CCLEP 2022) [Assumption — verify zone against CCLEP 2022 mapping; confirm the lot is not mapped R1 or E3 or another zone].

Under the R2 zone land use table in CCLEP 2022, "dwelling houses" are permitted with consent. The proposed development is a single dwelling house. The use is permissible in the zone, satisfying the threshold requirement for DA assessment.

The zone objectives for R2 Low Density Residential (CCLEP 2022) relevantly include:

• To provide for the housing needs of the community within a low density residential environment
• To enable other land uses that provide facilities or services to meet the day to day needs of residents
• To recognise the desirable elements of the existing streetscape and built environment and maintain the identity of local areas

4.2 Development standards in the LEP

The following numerical development standards apply under CCLEP 2022:

Note: If the reviewing planner identifies any non-compliance with the above LEP standards, a Clause 4.6 variation argument must be prepared using the Wehbe framework as set out in §5.1 below. The draft Clause 4.6 section at §5.1.1 has been pre-populated for that contingency.

4.3 Other applicable LEP clauses

4.4 Applicable SEPPs

The following State Environmental Planning Policies have heads of consideration for this development:

4.5 Central Coast Development Control Plan 2022

The Central Coast Development Control Plan 2022 (CCDCP 2022) applies to the development. The relevant chapters include:

• Chapter 2 — General provisions (notification, privacy, solar access)
• Chapter 3 — Residential development (setbacks, building envelopes, site coverage, POS, driveway, landscaping, visual privacy, solar access, character)
• Chapter 4 — Parking (parking rates and driveway design)
• Chapter 5 — Stormwater and drainage
• Chapter 6 — Waste management
• Chapter 7 — Coastal areas (if coastal controls apply) [Assumption — confirm applicable chapters against the CCDCP 2022 chapter structure, which may differ from the above; the CCDCP 2022 was restructured upon Central Coast Council's amalgamation of former Gosford and Wyong DCPs]

5. Assessment

5.1 Compliance with the LEP (section 4.15(1)(a)(i))

5.1.1 LEP compliance table

All LEP development standards are assessed as complying on the assumed figures. If the reviewing planner identifies non-compliance in any of the above standards upon verification of the architectural plans, the following Clause 4.6 framework must be applied.

5.1.2 Contingent Clause 4.6 variation framework (height — pre-populated for planner use)

[This section is pre-populated in case the architectural plans reveal a height exceedance. Delete if not applicable after plan verification.]

If the proposed ridge height exceeds the 8.5 m standard prescribed by cl 4.3 of CCLEP 2022 and the Height of Buildings Map, the applicant relies on cl 4.6 of CCLEP 2022 to justify a variation. The request is made under cl 4.6(3)(a) and cl 4.6(3)(b) as follows.

Test 1 — Wehbe ground 1 (cl 4.6(3)(a)): Is compliance unreasonable or unnecessary?

The objectives of cl 4.3 (Height of Buildings) are to ensure that the bulk and scale of development is compatible with the character of the locality and does not unreasonably impact on the amenity of adjoining properties through overshadowing or visual privacy. The proposal achieves these objectives through:

• A building envelope that is consistent with the scale of two-storey dwellings on comparable lots in the subject site and the broader Wamberal residential streetscape;
• A design that steps the building form down the fall of the land, so that the exceedance (if any) is limited to a minor portion of the roof form and does not translate to increased bulk at the boundary;
• No unreasonable overshadowing impact on adjoining principal private open space (see solar access analysis at §5.6 below).

Test 2 — Wehbe ground 2 (cl 4.6(3)(b)): Sufficient environmental planning grounds

The environmental planning grounds justifying the departure are:

1. The sloping nature of the site (fall of approximately [X] m from front to rear [Assumption]) means that a building of equivalent visual bulk to a flat-site dwelling will register a greater measured height under the datum-based standard without any greater impact on neighbours;
2. The alternative of flattening the site to reduce apparent height would require substantial earthworks with greater environmental consequence than the minor height departure;
3. The proposed building envelope has been refined through design to locate the height exceedance (if any) centrally on the lot, away from both boundaries, minimising lateral shadow impacts;
4. The proposal's FSR (0.47:1) is below the 0.5:1 maximum, demonstrating overall restraint in the use of the development standard envelope.

The proposed development is in the public interest because:

• It adds a high-quality single dwelling to the Wamberal residential housing supply, consistent with the NSW Government's housing supply objectives and the Central Coast Local Strategic Planning Statement;
• It is consistent with the objectives of the R2 Low Density Residential zone, providing a low-density residential use on a lot of appropriate size;
• The objectives of the height standard — to control bulk, scale, and amenity impacts — are achieved by the proposal's design.

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5.2 Compliance with the DCP (section 4.15(1)(b))

The following compliance table addresses the controls in Chapter 3 of the Central Coast Development Control Plan 2022 relevant to residential development [Assumption — verify exact chapter and control references against the current CCDCP 2022; the chapter structure and numerical controls must be cross-checked].

5.2.1 DCP compliance table

5.2.2 DCP non-compliance (contingent — solar access)

[Planner to undertake or commission solar access analysis before completing this section. If the proposal overshadows the adjoining principal private open space for more than 50% of the required solar window, the following argument framework applies. Delete if solar analysis confirms compliance.]

The DCP standard for solar access to adjoining open space (typically 3 hours of direct sunlight between 9 am and 3 pm on 21 June) is a guideline, not a statutory development standard. As confirmed by the NSW Court of Appeal in Zhang v Canterbury City Council [2001] NSWCA 167, a DCP sets out guidelines for development and a consent authority must take the controls into account but is not bound by strict compliance if the underlying objective is still achieved.

The planning objective of the solar access control is to protect the amenity and liveability of adjacent dwellings by ensuring their primary outdoor living areas receive adequate natural sunlight during winter months. Where any departure from the numerical solar window benchmark can be demonstrated to be:

(a) limited in duration and degree; (b) a consequence of the site's north–south lot orientation, which is not within the applicant's control; (c) accompanied by design measures (setbacks, wall heights, or roof pitch orientation) that mitigate shadow extent to the greatest practical degree;

then the variation is acceptable under the Initial Action Pty Ltd v Woollahra MC [2018] NSWLEC 118 test, because the planning objective of maintaining meaningful solar amenity for neighbours remains achieved.

The applicant respectfully submits that any minor departure from the solar access benchmark satisfies this test, and the solar modelling at §5.6 should be read in that context.

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5.3 Compliance with the Housing SEPP 2021 (section 4.15(1)(a)(i))

The State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021 (Housing SEPP) applies to the development. The following chapters are considered:

Chapter 2 — Affordable housing: Not engaged. The proposal is a market-rate single dwelling.

Chapter 3 — Diverse housing: The proposal is a single dwelling house, not a secondary dwelling, dual occupancy, manor house or other diverse housing type. Chapter 3 of the Housing SEPP does not impose additional controls that deviate from the single dwelling assessment pathway under CCLEP 2022 and CCDCP 2022.

Chapter 6 — Stage 1 Low and Mid-Rise (LMR) concessions (cl 166): The Stage 1 LMR provisions (inserted into the Housing SEPP in 2024) apply to specified residential R1, R2, R3, and R4 zoned land within defined LMR mapping areas within designated local government areas. Central Coast Council's inclusion in the Stage 1 LMR mapping must be confirmed [Assumption — verify whether the subject site is within the Stage 1 LMR mapping under Housing SEPP Chapter 6; if the lot falls within the mapped area, the concession's height, FSR and setback standards may override those in the CCLEP 2022. Cite cl 166 explicitly if relying on the concession]. On current advice, the proposal is assessed against the base LEP standards, which achieve compliance without reliance on the LMR concession.

Chapter 4 — Residential apartment design (ADG): Not engaged. The proposal is a single dwelling; Chapter 4 and Schedule 9 of the Housing SEPP (ADG framework) are not triggered.

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5.4 Hazards (section 4.15(1)(a) — Resilience and Hazards SEPP 2021)

The State Environmental Planning Policy (Resilience and Hazards) 2021 (Resilience and Hazards SEPP) must be addressed for each hazard that is flagged on the Section 10.7 certificate or identified through spatial analysis.

5.4.1 Coastal hazards

Wamberal is a well-documented coastal erosion hotspot. Wamberal Beach is subject to ongoing dune recession, and the Central Coast Council has prepared the Wamberal Lagoon and Beach Coastal Zone Management Plan (and its precursor under the Coastal Management Act 2016) in recognition of the area's high coastal hazard exposure.

The Resilience and Hazards SEPP 2021, Chapter 3 (Coastal Management) applies where land falls within a Coastal Management Area — specifically a Coastal Hazard Area, a Coastal Environment Area, or a Coastal Use Area as mapped by the NSW Coastal Vulnerability Assessment and adopted council CZMP mapping.

Action required before lodgement:

1. Obtain the current Section 10.7(2) and (5) certificate confirming the site's coastal hazard notation [Assumption — not yet obtained];
2. Determine the applicable Coastal Management Area category from council's coastal hazard mapping;
3. If the site falls within a Coastal Hazard Area, confirm that:

Sources & legislation

Every claim in this report is grounded in the following authoritative documents. Click any link to read the in-force version directly.

• EP&A Act 1979 — Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) — Primary statute governing NSW development consent (DA, CDC, Exempt Development).
• EP&A Regulation 2021 — Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021 (NSW) — Regulation under the EP&A Act — DA fees, application requirements, designated and integrated development.
• Codes SEPP 2008 — State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008 — Defines the Housing Code, LRHDC, Industrial & Business Code, Subdivision Code and Exempt Development codes — the CDC fast-track pathways.
• Housing SEPP 2021 — State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021 — Apartment Design Guide (Ch 4 + Schedule 9), Stage 1 LMR cl 166 (Ch 6), Stage 2 LMR (Ch 3), affordable housing bonus, secondary dwelling rules.
• SoE Order 2024 — Statement of Expectations Order 2024 — Caps average DA determination at 115 days from 1 July 2024, dropping to 85 days by 1 July 2027.
• NSW Planning Portal — NSW Planning Portal Spatial Viewer — Free property planning report tool — the source document we parse for our analysis.
• Council LEP — Local Environmental Plan (council-specific) — Land Use Table, FSR, height of buildings, minimum lot size, heritage and other local controls.