Northern Beaches Council has put a major overhaul of local planning rules on public exhibition. The purpose is to merge four separate sets of planning controls, inherited from the old Manly, Pittwater and Warringah councils, into a single Local Environmental Plan (LEP) and Development Control Plan (DCP) for the whole local government area.
A LEP sets the rules for land development, while a DCP supports the LEP and provides more detailed guidance for new development.
The draft documents, on exhibition until 30 August, are the product of more than five years of technical work and community consultation. They are intended to give residents, property owners and developers one clear rulebook instead of four.
One of the major changes under the draft LEP is the allowance of dual occupancies (two dwellings on one title) in R2 low-density zones across the Northern Beaches. This includes the former Warringah area where the option is not available.
To help residents work out what it means for their property, Council has a Planning Navigator, where people can look up their own property and see what’s proposed for it.
“These important documents will harmonise existing planning rules across the area and deliver more consistency in guiding future development on the Northern Beaches,” Northern Beaches Mayor Sue Heins said.
“Both documents recognise the unique characteristics of our neighbourhoods and will protect our precious environment while meeting our housing needs for the future.
“Community input has been supported by comprehensive technical studies into local hazards, conservation areas, traffic and transport, employment, social infrastructure and the natural environment.
“For most residents, little will change; however, a small number of properties are proposed to be rezoned or subject to new requirements, particularly where environmental values are high.
“Community input is vital. I encourage residents to have their say at this important milestone and let us know if we got it right.”
Having one clear set of controls will may Council a stronger position when arguing to protect local character when the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure is assessing large-scale State Significant Development Applications. However, SSD applications can override local planning controls, particularly if a rezoning application is submitted as in the case of the Scentre Group’s Warringah Mall development or the Wilga Wilson rezoning proposal.
Here’s some of what’s changing and what’s not:
Dual occupancies allowed (almost) everywhere
Under the draft LEP, dual occupancies (two dwellings on one title) will be permitted in R2 low-density zones across the Northern Beaches. This includes the former Warringah area where the option is not available.
The dual occupancy change is Council’s housing-supply initiative to support the missing middle infill housing in established residential areas. While the State’s Low to Mid Rise Housing Policy allocates a minimum lot size of 450m², the draft LEP has minimum lot size rules of 800m² for attached dual occupancies in R2 zones and 900m² for detached ones. However, within the State’s designated Low and Mid-Rise Housing Areas, the State’s minimum takes precedence over the LEP’s.
Manly’s R2 zone keeps its extra rights
Under the old Manly LEP, land zoned R2 could be used for things not normally allowed in a low-density zone, such as multi-dwelling housing, shop-top housing, semi-detached and attached dwellings, and hostels. Neither the Pittwater nor the Warringah LEPs ever permitted this.
The new LEP standardises R2 across the Northern Beaches to mean genuine low-density housing only. But it doesn’t remove these additional uses from the areas that already have it.
A new “Additional Permitted Use” preserves the broader entitlement specifically for R2 land in Balgowlah, Balgowlah Heights, Clontarf, Seaforth and Manly.
New DCP housing controls
The draft DCP brings in LGA-wide minimum dwelling-mix rules for apartment buildings for the first time.
Developments of 50 or more units will need at least 20 per cent studio/one-bedroom and 20 per cent three-bedroom-plus apartments, responding to what Council’s analysis found was a consistent under-delivery of both dwelling types between 2016 and 2023.
A separate “family-friendly” apartment rule applies to buildings of 20 or more units, requiring at least 25 per cent two-bedroom-plus family layouts plus communal outdoor play space.
Side setbacks are being standardised across the LGA, tightened in the former Warringah area, eased slightly in parts of the former Manly and Pittwater areas, while maximum storey limits for townhouses, terraces and residential flat buildings are being scrapped in favour of character-based design tests.
Affordable housing targets remain largely the same
The draft LEP carries over the existing affordable housing contribution scheme from the previous LEPs, despite Council endorsing amending its affordable housing contribution scheme at its November 2025 meeting.
Those amendments included a three per cent contributions for new residential development within the nine State identified Town Centres, a two per cent contribution for DAs for higher-density residential development across the beaches and three per cent at Frenchs Forest (down from 10 per cent).
These still need to be signed off by NSW Planning. Once it has, and been through its own separate public exhibition, it will be integrated into the new LEP.
For now, it means developments over a floor space threshold in three mapped areas – Frenchs Forest Town Centre (10 to 15 per cent), part of Mona Vale (5 per cent) and part of Narrabeen (1.71 per cent) – must contribute to affordable housing.
Conservation zoning
Council says there is no loss of environmental protection or conservation zoning anywhere in the draft plans, including in the former Pittwater area.
A Conservation Zones Review shifts around 197 properties, mainly in Ingleside, from rural and residential zones into conservation zones based on environmental assessment.
In the “deferred lands” of Belrose North and Oxford Falls Valley, which have never had standard zoning, roughly 233 properties are proposed for C3 zoning and one for C2.
New homes to ditch gas
A new “All-Electric, Renewable-Ready and Resilient Buildings” control will require new residential development to run entirely on electricity. This means no gas cooktops, gas ovens, gas space heaters, gas hot water systems, or gas pool heaters. Outdoor bottled-gas barbecues are exempt, the rule doesn’t apply to alterations or additions to existing homes, and is for residential use only (not commercial).
New dwellings would generally need solar panels (unless a roof gets very little winter sun) and a nominated spot for future battery storage, while new pools would need to be heated by solar thermal systems or electric heat pumps.
Council says the change supports its targets of net zero emissions for new buildings by 2030, 50 per cent solar uptake by 2030, and a 50 per cent cut to community emissions by 2040. Several Councils in Greater Sydney have made similar changes to their DCPs.
The SSD catch
Whatever residents and Council land on through this exhibition, there’s a limit to what the new LEP and DCP can guarantee.
State Significant Development applications, large development projects assessed by the State government rather than Council, can be approved even where they conflict with local planning controls. Particularly when they have a rezoning application alongside their SSD.
While a clearer, harmonised set of planning rules strengthens Council’s decisions in day-to-day assessments and in arguing for local character when presented with an SSD, it does not prevent the State government from approving large scale development projects that go against those local rules.
Have your say
Submissions on the draft LEP and DCP close on 30 August 2026. Residents can look up their property on Council’s interactive map, read supporting fact sheets and the full documents, attend a pop-up stall or webinar, or make a submission via Council’s Your Say page.
