1. The Society's Land Use Subcommittee
2. Planning and Development in the Blue Mountains
3. Our Planning and Development Resource Kit
4. Blue Mountains exempt from planning changes

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The Society's Land Use Subcommittee examines State Government and Council policies, as well as development applications affecting environmentally sensitive land in the Blue Mountains.

It's also on the look out for activities that contravene environmental laws and regulations - like land clearing and dumping.

The Land Use Subcommittee -

• has been actively involved in reviewing Local Environment Plans since the early 1990's
• is involved in various campaigns - such as Leave Radiata Plateau Wild
• is involved in Elections - especially Council Elections
• prepares a dozen or so submissions each year.
• conducts workshops on planning and development issues.

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Planning and development in the Blue Mountains is determined by two key documents.

• Blue Mountains Local Environmental Plan 2015 (BMLEP 2015) which you can find here.
• Blue Mountains Development Control Plan 2015 (BMDCP 2015) which you can find here.

The BMLEP 2015 outlines:

• What type of developments can be built and where
• What level and type of assessment new developments must go through to get approval
• Development standards such as lot size, height and setback
• Provisions to protect the environment and heritage

The BMLEP 2015 is statutory instrument - in other words all new development must comply with the provisions of the LEP.

It should be noted development in some urban areas is still governed by the old Blue Mountains LEP 2005.

The BMDCP provides information and guidance on site analysis for new developments, and environmental, heritage and other development controls which apply to new developments.

The BMDCP 2015 is a policy document, so developments do not necessarily need to comply with the DCP, but it is a key tool Council uses when considering whether to grant development consent.

More information on the planning and development process in the Blue Mountains can be found on Council's website.

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• Are you concerned about a new development occurring near you and want to make a submission to Council but don't know how?
• Are you worried that the clearing of bushland at the end of your street might be illegal but don't know who to report it to?
• Have you visited your local creek and are alarmed to see what looks like pollution but don't know what to do?
• Have you seen some illegal dumping of waste in bushland and want to report it?

The Society's Planning and Development Resource Kit can answer all these questions and more.

Members of the public often approach the Society for advice or help on environment-related matters that they are concerned about in their neighbourhood or in the mountains more broadly.

This is a positive sign that Blue Mountains residents care about the environment and want to take action to protect it.

The Society therefore developed the kit to help residents take appropriate action on environment-related matters and learn more about the legal frameworks and institutions regulating development in the Blue Mountains.

The Society encourages residents to be proactive. The most common way authorities find out about illegal clearing, pollution events, unapproved development and other environmental damage is through reports by concerned residents and individuals.

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The NSW Government is threatening to force a new ‘one-size-fits-all’ low- and mid-rise housing policy onto the Blue Mountains, with the aim of increasing new housing.

The proposed policy over-rides existing key environmental provisions in the Blue Mountains Local Environmental Plan (LEP) that protects our bushland and the World Heritage Area.

The Blue Mountains LEP already allows for the building of medium density housing in locations that work for both people and the environment.

The Society believes the proposed policy would encourage unsustainable and unsuitable medium density development throughout the Blue Mountains, threatening our natural environment and World Heritage Area and putting more lives at risk due to the growing threat from bushfires.

Here's an article in the Blue Mountains Gazette.

An open letter to the NSW Premier will be published in the Sydney Morning Herald on Monday 13 May and the Blue Mountains Gazette on Wednesday 15 May.

The letter begins -

The letter is from -

• The NSW Government has committed to delivering at least 314,000 new homes by 2029, resulting in a ‘one-size-fits-all’ plan to increase housing supply in the Greater Sydney (which includes the Blue Mountains), Newcastle and Wollongong regions.
• The new housing policy proposes establishing 800m ‘precincts’ within the existing villages in the Blue Mountains, measured from each railway station and ‘town centre’ boundary (see our maps). Housing density will increase dramatically in these precincts, primarily by allowing increased residential building heights up to 6 storeys high.
• The policy also proposes increasing housing density in all R2 Low Density Residential zones across the state.

Here's some fast facts about housing in the Blue Mountains.

Here's our Initial Proposed Housing Reforms webpage for more details.

• The Blue Mountains LEP is tailored to the area and includes strong environmental provisions to ensure that any new development is sited appropriately, thus safeguarding our natural environment. This new proposal would override the LEP and hence put our unique natural environment and our World Heritage listed national parks at risk.
• Housing intensification, without adequate environmental protections, will create more stormwater runoff into the World Heritage Area at increased volumes, velocity and pollution levels, leading to the spread of invasive weeds and the degradation of waterways.
• Some of the areas targeted for low- and mid-rise housing are sited within or adjacent to areas of significant bushland, including endangered ecological communities. Development in these areas would inevitably degrade or destroy native vegetation and fauna habitat, including potentially damaging the nationally significant Blue Mountains swamps and endangered lower Blue Mountains forests.
• The Blue Mountains is one of the most bushfire prone areas in Australia and, by 2090, 90% of homes in the Blue Mountains are expected to be exposed to high bushfire risk due to climate change. Currently it is 26% of homes. The Blue Mountains City Council recently stated that “to house more people in areas at risk from bushfire is reckless and dangerous”.
• The Blue Mountains does not have an efficient public transport system. It has a very limited intercity railway service and is already highly car dependent. These housing reforms will increase car dependency and further clog the highway.
• Infrastructure (including sewer and electricity) is at or near capacity, and cannot sustainably or environmentally support a significant increase in population.

A map has been created for each of the 18 Blue Mountains villages affected by the proposed housing reforms.

Blue Mountains land zoned from Local Environment Plan 2015.  E1, E2, R1, R2 & R3 zones are affected.

The maps show the approximate 400m and 800m areas around railway stations and town centres.

The maps can be found here

We need you to urgently send a letter to the Hon. Chris Minns MP, Premier of NSW, telling him:

• why you do not support these new housing reforms; and
• requesting that the Blue Mountains Local Government Area is excluded from these reforms.

Letters to the Premier can only be sent via lodgement through an online portal or by post – they cannot be sent directly via email.

Suggested points that could be included in your letter are:

• The Blue Mountains' LEP is unique to the area and critical in protecting the natural environment - if this is overridden it would put our unique natural environment and our World Heritage listed national parks at risk.
• Increased housing development will create more stormwater runoff, with pollution entering the World Heritage Area degrading this globally recognised environment.
• The Blue Mountains is home to endangered ecological communities. Any development close to bushland would result in degradation or loss of habitat and threaten the survival of some endangered communities.
• An increased population will put lives at risk during bushfires, especially as the Great Western Highway is the only evacuation route and can become paralysed with traffic during fires.
• The existing infrastructure (including sewer and electricity) is already at or near capacity and cannot cope with an increase in population.

You should personalise your letter and communicate what is important to you.

Once you have finished your letter, save it and then send via the correspondence e-portal for Chris Minns, Premier NSW.

Alternatively, you can print and send the letter to:

So that we know how many letters have been sent to the Premier, once you have sent your letter can you please let us know via the campaign email housing@bluemountains.org.au.