The Inner West Council (IWC) is currently exhibiting a new draft Development Control Plan (DCP), with public submissions closing this Sunday 28 June 2026.
What is a Development Control Plan?
For any building development, the legal planning rules are set out in the Local Environment Plan (LEP). The IWC’s so-called “Fairer Future Plan” is its draft new LEP. For example, the LEP dictates that homes must be in a residential zone, with the maximum legal building height.
The Development Control Plan (DCP) is supposed to work alongside the LEP, providing detailed planning and design guidelines to support these planning rules; e.g. a residential building should have a minimum of three hours of sun into north-facing windows each day.
These guidelines are flexible but require a reason for the town planner to vary them. Anyone who has ever objected to an overshadowing development will understand that they are not always enforced.
Why is a Development Control Plan (DCP) important to you?
Any future application to build in your neighbourhood will be assessed against the Development Control Plan.
We’re concerned about this DCP’s brevity, in particular that more vague guidelines will results in
a) affected neighbours having less ability to object to a development application
b) owners of commercial sites will be able to push even harder against the guidelines, and
c) the guidelines are not responding to each area’s unique characteristics.
If you can make even a short submission, please do so and have your voice heard.
HAVE YOUR SAY BY THIS SUNDAY 28 JUNE
- Go online to the Inner West Council Website Have Your Say and
- click on eDCP under the Draft Inner West Development Control Plan tile.
- Speak up by emailing your submission planning@innerwest.nsw.gov.au with your name, address and date by Sunday 28th June.
New draft DCP for the Inner West
Since the State government amalgamated the Ashfield, Leichhardt and Marrickville Local Government Areas into the Inner West Council, town planners have been using three existing DCPs, one for each for the former local government area.
One set of guidelines for all suburbs means the guidelines are too generic and lack the necessary specificity to each suburb.
The new draft Inner West DCP will apply to all suburbs across the Inner West. It has been written ‘from scratch’, and effectively ignores the previous DCPs, which were developed in consultation with local communities and contained useful guidelines, specific to your neighbourhood and suburb.
For example, each Heritage Conservation Area in the Ashfield DCP had a Statement of Significance. Unfortunately, this wealth of local knowledge has been removed from the DCP and simplified.
This new draft DCP provides no mapping with its predecessors, so it is very hard to track what is being left out.
The City of Sydney’s approach to its DCP is ideal; it contains guidelines for a “City of Villages”, in which each village is a precinct with its own detailed guidelines. To a lesser extent, this exists in the Inner West DCP. Part 4 – Place Specific Controls, in which each suburb has a small section called Existing Character and Desired Future Character.
It’s worthwhile you checking if you agree with these Character Statements.
In Part 5 – Definitions, of note is the definition of Affordable Housing as where the rent payable does not exceed 30% of the household’s gross income. We agree with this definition, noting that, when applied to renters on ‘moderate’ incomes, the resulting rent is still unaffordable for renters on ‘low’ and ‘very low’ incomes.
What we want from the new DCP
- A serious and rigorous commitment to enforcement
- Dedication to supporting and preserving our natural environment
- Retaining and/or retrofitting existing buildings, considering embodied carbon
- Protection of solar access to existing solar photovoltaic systems must be considered as a basis for the refusal of a DA* relates to the draft Solar Panels Policy
- Preservation of local social character and affordability by preventing redevelopment of existing affordable dwellings
- Ongoing commitment to definition of Affordable housing as that in which the rent is no more than 30% of household income
- Ensure that subdivision of land does not result in: a) A net loss of dwellings; b) Isolated lots that cannot reach their redevelopment potential including compliance with the NSW Apartment Design Guide (ADG)
- Maintain and enhance the significance of heritage places within the Inner West considering our rich history
- Clear definition of all terms used in the DCP, to ensure it is fit for purpose as a decision-making tool (we welcome the definition of Affordable Housing)
- Ensure a high level of amenity for residents, workers and visitors, not just the “reasonable level” stated
- Ensure that parking provision is increased to more realistic current vehicle use, to support people with mobility issues, families and workers with long commutes
We support the following items in the DCP and request that they are strongly adhered to by Council planners and decision-makers:
- Development, including land uses and urban design, is to enhance and achieve the desired future character of the neighbourhood while retaining elements that contribute to that character and meeting all relevant DCP requirements.
- Maintain the area’s character by ensuring development is consistent in architectural style, form, and materials, while allowing contemporary design that is clearly compatible with established scale, setbacks, and roof forms.
- Reinforce the low-scale ‘cottage’ character of relevant residential streets, including detached dwellings and traditional hipped and gabled roof forms.
- Maintain the rhythm of streetscapes created by regular allotment sizes and the gradual stepping of dwellings on sloping streets.
- Protect and enhance vegetation corridors for their aesthetic and environmental value.
- Retain and improve public views from streets, parks, and other open spaces, particularly towards the city.
- Support neighbourhood centres and existing industrial areas through active frontages, appropriate servicing and access, fine-grain tenancies, and well-managed residential interfaces.
- Set development adjacent to parks back a minimum of 10 metres from the park boundary, measured to the nearest external wall (excluding decking and pergolas), and design frontages to positively address parks with passive surveillance and high-quality landscape.
- Ensure development within or near relevant parks (e.g. Whites Creek) does not harm wetland environments.
- Ensure development within Callan Park protects heritage, cultural and landscape assets.
HAVE YOUR SAY BY THIS SUNDAY 28 JUNE
- Go online to the Inner West Council Website Have Your Say and
- click on eDCP under the Draft Inner West Development Control Plan tile.
- Speak up by emailing your submission planning@innerwest.nsw.gov.au with your name, address and date by Sunday 28th June.
THINGS TO CONSIDER IN YOUR SUBMISSION
Do you agree with the ‘Desired Future Character’ for your suburb?
In Part 4 – Place Specific Controls, the DCP gives the Existing Character and Desired Future Character for each suburb. Town planners will assess developments against this Desired Future Character.
We believe the DCP should enforce Desired Future Character for reasons beyond physical character; including the natural environment, climate-crisis mitigation, social character and housing affordability. Please mention these if you also think they are relevant.
Go to Part 4 – Place Specific Control, and check the Existing Character and Desired Future Character for your suburb. Do you agree with this future vision? Please say so in your submission.
Supporting Affordable Housing
In the Inner West, the cost of building is so exorbitantly high that old-stock houses remain greatly more affordable than new builds to both rent and buy, even at their current price points.
Preserving old-stock dwellings (both houses and apartments) does not just respect heritage and character; it helps retain relative affordability in our community – a stated aim of the new IWC LEP.
Heritage
Inner West heritage tells the story of early European settlement in Australia. It is also part of our sense of place, belonging and community pride.
The Council has said that this DCP shifts emphasis. We are concerned that this is a shift away from protecting Heritage Items and Heritage Conservation Areas.
For example, this DCP is removing the Statement of Significance for each Heritage Conservation Area, thus losing a wealth of heritage information. The definition of heritage terms has been removed. Heritage guidelines such as ‘side setback’ have also been removed.
Solar panels are being allowed on the street facing roof section in Conservation Areas. Many supporters of architectural heritage believe this seriously detracts from the streetscape, particularly in Federation heritage areas. If you agree, then add the text “draft Solar Panels Policy: I object to solar panels on the street facing roof section of houses in Conservation Areas.”
If you value the Heritage Conservation Areas and Heritage Items in your suburb, say so in your submission and request that existing guidelines are not watered down.
Environmental considerations
Support retention of deep soil planting (gardens, streets and parks) wherever possible to reduce the heat-island effect and increase carbon capture, as well as supporting other local inhabitants, including birds, insects and animals.
Protect solar access for existing solar photovoltaic systems by considering it as a basis for refusal of a DA, as solar is the greenest energy source available to local residents, and a key objective of the Inner West Council. If you are mentioning this in your submission, please add the text “in relation to the draft Solar Panels Policy”
Embodied Carbon: A DCP that prevents demolition to reduce climate impact
The data below shows that preventing demolition is the best way to reduce carbon emissions.
1) Australia’s construction industry must reduce upfront embodied carbon emissions by 31-36% by 2030 to adhere to the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) and limit global temperature increase to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels. https://slattery.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Slattery-upfront-embodied-carbon-benchmarking-2024.pdf
2) The building sector in Australia is responsible for almost 1/5th of our carbon emissions https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2024/03/embodied-carbon-what-is-it-and-how-to-reduce-it https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877705817316879?via%3Dihub=&__cf_chl_tk=.myan7T1HusP0lCaKOWfquZzFtrIbzmv1ONWMRiDmTs-1782024924-1.0.1.1-ILim3JxqJBv44ATNuequAVAFQWQQsqttn8WycVytS5U3
“The greenest building is the one that already exists” the now familiar adage in the green building industry is credited to Carl Elefante, former president of the American Architects Association and author of Going For Zero: Decarbonizing the Built Environment on the Path to Our Urban Future, 2025
4) The Green Building Council of Australia’s 2021 Report on Embodied Carbon found that a ‘Business-as-Usual’ approach to construction would result in embodied carbon contributing 85 per cent of the construction industry’s carbon emissions in 2050 – at a time when Australia must achieve net zero emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. https://gbca-web.s3.amazonaws.com/media/documents/embodied-carbon–embodied-energy-in-australias-buildings-2021-07-22-final-public.pdf