Update

At its meeting of 15 November 2023, Council resolved to approve the Draft Woollahra DCP (Amendment No. 23), and the amendment took effect on 8 December 2023.

Read the Council resolution and access the Woollahra DCP 2015.

Thank you to everyone who provided feedback to the public exhibition. Your participation is valuable in helping to shape Council's planning controls to ensure they reflect the views of the whole community.

You can still find everything you need to know about the exhibition on this page, including FAQs and links to important documents.


Proposed Amendments

From 5 September - 8 October 2023 we exhibited a draft amendment to Woollahra Development Control Plan 2015 (Woollahra DCP 2015) which seeks to address the visual impact of customer electricity substations associated with new development.

When land is redeveloped for more intensive uses, such as a residential flat building or a mixed use development, sometimes the electricity authority (Ausgrid) may require installation of a substation to upgrade the electricity supply to support the new use. This is called a “customer substation”.

The customer substation takes the form of a kiosk or chamber substation. These substations are bulky and can be visually intrusive and have an adverse impact on the amenity of the streetscape and adjoining neighbours.

On 14 February 2022 Council adopted the notice of motion (NOM):

THAT Council undertake a review of, and prepare a report to Council, on measures that can be taken in its planning instruments (including any amendment to its current Development Control Plan or Local Environmental Plan, amongst others) to ensure that all development in the municipality that requires, or may foreseeably require, the installation of an electricity substation or some form of upgraded electrical infrastructure (“infrastructure”):

  • properly incorporates this infrastructure in its design and caters for this infrastructure on the development site; and
  • ensures that such infrastructure is located away from neighbouring properties and/or is sufficiently set back from neighbouring properties; and
  • ensures that such infrastructure is situated, as far as possible, away from the street and/ or public domain such that it is not visible from the street; and
  • ensures that such infrastructure is enclosed or sited in a visually unobtrusive way, with proper fencing, enclosure and/or landscaping measures.

The draft amendment seeks to strengthen the DCP sections that address site facilities, by introducing objectives and controls to specifically address the location and visual impact of customer electricity substations and other electricity infrastructure.


Public Exhibition

Have your say

The public exhibition period to gather feedback on this proposed amendment ran from Tuesday 5 September 2023 to Sunday 8 October 2023.

Feedback on the proposed amendment was collected via the following methods:

  • Online: Complete the form below
  • Email: records@woollahra.nsw.gov.au, quoting reference - SC6978
  • Mail: Letter addressed to the General Manager at Woollahra Council, PO Box 61, Double Bay NSW 1360, quoting reference - SC6978

Submissions closed at 11.59pm, Sunday 8 October 2023.

See privacy note under FAQs on this page.