Development Control Plan Applications
A Development Control Plan (DCP) is a document that is adopted by Council (or another planning authority), which contains detailed design criteria and guidelines for development and is made up of a written provisions and associated maps. DCPs are used by Council in the assessment of development applications.
When designing development proposals, applicants need to address the relevant requirements of any DCPs which apply to their land/proposal. DCPs may be amended in order to introduce new planning provisions or policy where considered appropriate by the Relevant Planning Authority (RPA), being either Council or the State Government.Amendments can be in a variety of forms and may relate to matters such as changes to development standards, technical maps or assessment requirements. Most commonly, DCP amendments that are sought by landholders usually relate to proposed or recently zoned land. DCP amendments may be requested by landowners, developers or the community. Amendments may only be undertaken by a RPA and RPAs may initiate an amendment.
Before making an application to Council for an amendment to a Development Control Plan (DCP) applying to the Singleton local government area, it is recommended that persons attend a pre-lodgement meeting with Council’s strategic planners to discuss the proposed changes to the DCP.
Pre-lodgement meetings allow applicants to discuss the nature of their proposal and gain a better understanding about the process and required documentation in support of their application.
Pre-lodgement meetings are held on a Wednesday morning at 9:30am, 10:30am and 11:30am.
For details about what information should be submitted prior to your pre-lodgement meeting, please refer to Council’s Pre-Lodgement Meeting fact sheet.
To request a pre-lodgement meeting, please complete the Pre-Lodgement Meeting request form and return to council@singleton.nsw.gov.au .
Initial consultation with council staff will provide an understanding of the issues that need to be addressed in a DCP amendment request.
Given the complexity of the Development Control Plan (DCP) amendment process, it is advisable for DCP amendment applications to be prepared by a qualified town planning consultant, although this is not a legal requirement. In order to lodge a proposal to amend the DCP, applicants must:
Applications to amend the DCP should be carried out in accordance with:
As the structure and content of DCPs are predominately determined by Council, it is important to consult with Council early on in the process to ensure the structure and content of proposals align with the approach taken by Council for the DCP.
Applicants can e-mail the amendment request form and associated documents or lodge the application in person at the Council's administration centre.
Application fees may be paid via phone, credit card or cheque. If you are wishing to pay over the phone, please contact Council's Customer Service Team to arrange for payment.
A staged fee system applies to DCP amendment applications. Where fees are payable to progress the proposal to the next stage in the process, such fees will be identified in an invoice issued by Council. Fees payable are determined in accordance with Council’s adopted fees and charges schedule and must be paid prior to the proposal progressing further.
If you need assistance with the lodgement of your application, you can contact Council’s Duty Planner between 8.30am and 12.00pm or Customer Service between 8.30am and 4.30pm.
Resources to assist in the preparation of a DCP amendment application can be found below.
The review of the Development Control Plan (DCP) amendment proposal is an initial step in processing requests made to Council to amend a DCP. Council's strategic planners will carry out this process.
The outcome of this process is formal advice from Council on whether the proposal to amend the DCP:
- Is considered to have merit for processing; or
- Is NOT able to be supported.
Once a DCP amendment proposal has been lodged with Council, it will generally proceed through the following process (timeframes are indicative only):
- Documents registered into Council’s record keeping system, acknowledgment letter sent to applicant and request allocated to processing officer for review (generally within 10 business days of initial lodgement);
- Processing officer inspects the site subject of the DCP amendment request and reviews the DCP amendment proposal against relevant legislation, strategies, planning directions and guidelines to determine whether the proposal contains sufficient information to demonstrate merit and compliance with the legislation, strategies, planning directions and guidelines;
- Processing officer issues written advice to the applicant (generally within 40 business days of being allocated the DCP amendment request).
Where fees are payable to progress the proposal to the next stage in the process, such fees will be identified in the invoice issued by Council. Fees payable are determined in accordance with Council’s adopted fees and charges schedule and must be paid prior to the proposal progressing further.
If Council has issued written advice that it does not support a DCP amendment request, the applicant may lodge a new application with Council with a revised or updated proposal. The revised request will incur the “Review of DCP amendment request” fee and require lodgement of a new lodgement form and submission of a new set of supporting information. It is only advisable to do so if the revised or updated proposal suitably addresses issues identified with the original proposal.
A staged fee system applies to DCP amendment applications. Where fees are payable to progress the proposal to the next stage in the process, such fees will be identified in an invoice issued by Council. Fees payable are determined in accordance with Council’s adopted fees and charges schedule and must be paid prior to the proposal progressing further.
You can track your application on Council’s tracking site.
Following the initial review of a Development Control Plan (DCP) amendment proposal, Council may prepare a draft DCP and associated explanatory material.
Draft DCPs are required to be prepared in accordance with:
Given the nature of DCPs, time required for preparation of any technical maps; and the need for consistency of structure and alignment of content, it can take sometimes take a while to complete the DCP drafting process. Council’s target timeframe for preparing draft DCP provisions is 60 days from receipt of relevant stage processing fees and sufficient information to enable drafting of the DCP.
The progress of DCP amendment applications can be viewed using Council’s tracking site.
Where fees are payable to progress the proposal to the next stage in the process, such fees will be identified in the invoice issued by Council. Fees payable are determined in accordance with Council’s adopted fees and charges schedule and must be paid prior to the proposal progressing further.
Public exhibition of a Draft Development Control Plan (DCP) is generally undertaken in the following manner:
- Notification in a newspaper that circulates in the area affected by the DCP amendment proposal
- Notification on Council's website
- Notification in writing to adjoining and adjacent landowners, unless the planning authority is of the opinion that the number of landowners makes it impractical to notify them.
Council can undertake additional consultation if this is deemed appropriate or necessary. This may include, but is not limited to, broad consultation by letter, workshops or public forum(s).
During the exhibition period, the following material must be made available for inspection:
- The Draft DCP, in the form approved for community consultation
- The relevant associated Local Environmental Plan (LEP) or deemed environmental planning instrument
If you would like to make a submission on an exhibited Draft DCP, your submission should include:
- The name and address of the person(s) making the submission
- The Council file reference as identified on the exhibition notice
- A statement on whether the person(s) lodging the submission supports or objects to the Draft DCP; and
- The reasons for the objection/support.
Submissions must relate to the planning proposal being exhibited and must not contain comments which could be considered or construed as slanderous. They must reach Singleton Council by close of business on the last day of the exhibition period and must be addressed to:
General Manager
Singleton Council
PO Box 314
SINGLETON NSW 2330
E: council@singleton.nsw.gov.au
The community consultation is complete only when Council has considered any submissions made concerning the Draft DCP.
You can view any Draft DCPs currently on exhibition on Council’s exhibition webpage.
Applications for DCP amendments can be monitored using Council’s tracking site.
Where fees are payable to progress the proposal to the next stage in the process, such fees will be identified in the invoice issued by Council. Fees payable are determined in accordance with Council’s adopted fees and charges schedule and must be paid prior to the proposal progressing further.
Following completion of the exhibition period for a Draft Development Control Plan (DCP), Council undertakes a review of any submissions that have been received in relation to the proposal and issues raised are taken into consideration in finalisation of the proposal. Council staff then prepare a report to a formal Council meeting.
The Council report for finalisation of a Draft DCP will generally explain the findings from the consultation process and make a recommendation on how to proceed in terms of the proposed DCP amendment. Council will either support the proposed recommendation or will decide not to support the recommendation.
Where the Council has resolved to support making of an amended DCP or has resolved not to make an amended DCP, it must give public notice of its decision in a local newspaper within 28 days after the decision is made. Such a public notice must include:
- The name of the plan that is to be amended
- the date the council resolved to make the plan and when the plan takes or took effect
Following a resolution to make an amended DCP, Council will update the DCP to include supported amendments. Once finalised, the amended DCP is published on the Council’s website.
You can track your application on Council’s tracking site.
Where fees are payable to progress the proposal to the next stage in the process, such fees will be identified in the invoice issued by Council. Fees payable are determined in accordance with Council’s adopted fees and charges schedule and must be paid prior to the proposal progressing further.