Council guide · NSW

Port Macquarie-Hastings Council

What a house block can carry in Port Macquarie-Hastings Council's area — the dual-occupancy minimums, the granny-flat rule and the C4 controls, read from the Port Macquarie-Hastings Local Environmental Plan 2011 on legislation.nsw.gov.au, and whether the state Low and Mid-Rise rules reach here.

no minimumlot size for a dual occupancy

no minimumfrontage

60 m² or 33%granny flat (the greater)

Dual occupancy (two homes on one lot)

Port Macquarie-Hastings LEP sets no minimum lot size or frontage for a dual occupancy — attached pairs only in R2, judged on Council's DCP; the Lot Size Map governs any split into two titles; outside the state Low and Mid-Rise area.

Secondary dwelling (granny flat)

Port Macquarie-Hastings LEP cl 5.4(9) — the greater of 60 m² or 33% of the house’s total floor area, parking excluded. Under the state Housing SEPP a granny flat of up to 60 m² can also go through the ten-day complying-development route on a lot of 450 m² or more, with a 12 m frontage, where the land is not flood, bushfire or heritage constrained.

C4 Environmental Living

In the C4 Environmental Living zone: a house is permitted; an attached dual occupancy is permitted; no secondary dwelling; no semi-detached pairs. The state Low and Mid-Rise rules do not apply in C4.

Low and Mid-Rise

Outside the Six Cities region. The state Low and Mid-Rise rules do not apply in Port Macquarie-Hastings Council's area — the Port Macquarie-Hastings Local Environmental Plan 2011 and Council's DCP alone govern what a lot can carry. The state granny-flat and Pattern Book routes still apply where the land is not flood, bushfire or heritage constrained.

Constraints that change the answer

Bushfire-prone land (RFS map), flood-control lots, heritage items and conservation areas, and landslip risk all take a lot out of the fast-track routes and into a full DA. Easements, covenants and sewer mains are not on the public maps — a title search and a Sydney Water or council water check are always needed.

Approval routes

Complying development (CDC) — a private certifier issues it in days where the design meets every state standard; no neighbour notification.
Pattern Book — the NSW pre-approved designs, ten-day approval, subject to survey (slope) and the site tests.
Development application (DA) — lodged with Port Macquarie-Hastings Council through the NSW Planning Portal; weeks to months, neighbours notified, merit assessment against the LEP and DCP.

Useful links: pmhc.nsw.gov.au · NSW Planning Portal (lodge a DA or CDC, spatial viewer) · legislation.nsw.gov.au (search the LEP by name).

A residential street in Port Macquarie-Hastings Council's area — **Suburbs** — Bagnoo, Bago, Ballengarra, Banda Banda, Batar Creek, Beechwood, Bellangry, Birdwood, Black Creek, Blackmans Point, Bobs Creek, Bonny Hills, Boorganna, Bril Bril, Brombin, Byabarra, Cairncross, Camden Head, Comboyne, Cooperabung, Crosslands, Deauville, Debenham, Diamond Head, Doyles River, Dunbogan, Ellenborough, Fernbank Creek, Forbes River, Frazers Creek, Gearys Flat, Grants Beach, Gum Scrub, Hacks Ferry, Hartys Plains, Herons Creek, Hollisdale, **Huntingdon**, Hyndmans Creek, **Innes View**, Jolly Nose, Kendall, Kerewong, Kew, Kindee, King Creek, Kippara, Lake Cathie, Lake Innes, Lakewood, Laurieton, Limeburners Creek, Logans Crossing, Long Flat, Lorne, Lower Pappinbarra, Marlo Merrican, Middle Brother, Mortons Creek, Mount Seaview, North Brother, North Haven, North Shore, Pappinbarra, Pembrooke, Pipeclay, Port Macquarie, **Rawdon Island**, Redbank, Riverside, Rollands Plains, Rosewood, Rossglen, Sancrox, Swans Crossing, Telegraph Point, **The Hatch**, Thrumster, Toms Creek, **Upper Pappinbarra**, Upper Rollands Plains, Upsalls Creek, Wauchope, Werrikimbe, West Haven, Yarras, Yippin Creek.