Proposals on avoided or strategic conservation land must protect biodiversity and avoid rezoning.
Applies to: Land identified as avoided land or a strategic conservation area under the Biodiversity and Conservation SEPP 2021 (Cumberland Plain)For land mapped as avoided land or a strategic conservation area under the Biodiversity and Conservation SEPP, a planning proposal must demonstrate it protects and enhances native vegetation, riparian corridors, threatened species, koala habitat and matters of national significance. Such land must not be rezoned to rural, residential, employment, mixed use, tourist, recreation or various special-purpose zones.
Direction 3.6 is a ministerial planning direction that protects land with high biodiversity value that has been mapped under the Biodiversity and Conservation SEPP 2021 as either 'avoided land' or a 'strategic conservation area' (these are concepts tied to the Cumberland Plain in western Sydney). When a council or other planning authority prepares a planning proposal (a proposal to amend a local environmental plan, usually to rezone land) touching this mapped land, the authority must be satisfied the proposal is consistent with a list of conservation outcomes — protecting native vegetation, riparian corridors, threatened ecological communities and species, koala habitat and matters of national environmental significance.
All relevant planning authorities (typically councils, but also other bodies) when preparing a planning proposal that relates to land identified as avoided land or a strategic conservation area under the Biodiversity and Conservation SEPP 2021.
It is triggered when a relevant planning authority prepares a planning proposal that relates to land mapped, under the Biodiversity and Conservation SEPP 2021, as avoided land or a strategic conservation area (Cumberland Plain).
Limited carve-out: land identified as avoided land or a strategic conservation area may be rezoned to Zone SP2 Infrastructure only if the planning authority satisfies the Planning Secretary (or a nominated Department officer) that the rezoning facilitates infrastructure required to service or support development within a nominated area, and that the proposal is consistent with the Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan Guidelines.
Built directly on the State Environmental Planning Policy (Biodiversity and Conservation) 2021, which supplies the mapping of avoided land and strategic conservation areas and the definition of the Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan Guidelines. The SP2 exception references 'nominated area' (Greater Macarthur Growth Area, Greater Penrith to Eastern Creek Investigation Area, Western Sydney Aerotropolis and Wilton Growth Area) and the Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan Guidelines.
The authority must be satisfied the proposal is consistent with protecting/enhancing native vegetation, riparian corridors (including water quality), threatened ecological communities/species and their habitats, koala habitat and corridors, and matters of national environmental significance.
The authority must be satisfied the proposal is consistent with protecting/enhancing native vegetation, minimising impacts on regionally significant biodiversity, protecting koala habitat and corridors (connectivity, fauna movement, links to ecological restoration areas), and maintaining or enhancing ecological function.
A proposal must not rezone avoided land to a rural, residential, employment, mixed use, SP1, SP2, SP3, SP4, SP5, RE2, W4 or equivalent zone.
A proposal must not rezone a strategic conservation area to RU4, RU5, RU6, residential, employment, mixed use, SP1, SP2, SP3, SP4, SP5, RE2, W4 or equivalent zone.
This direction is effectively irrelevant to Kiama. Avoided land, strategic conservation areas, the Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan and the nominated areas (Greater Macarthur, Penrith–Eastern Creek, Western Sydney Aerotropolis, Wilton) are all western Sydney/Cumberland Plain constructs. Unless land in Kiama is mapped as avoided land or a strategic conservation area under the Biodiversity and Conservation SEPP 2021 (which it is not), this direction does not bite on any Kiama planning proposal or DA.
3.6 Strategic Conservation Planning Objective The objective of this direction is to protect, conserve or enhance areas with high biodiversity value. Application This direction applies to all relevant planning authorities when preparing a planning proposal that relates to land that, under the State Environmental Planning Policy (Biodiversity and Conservation) 2021, is identified as avoided land or a strategic conservation area. Direction 3.6 (1) A planning proposal authority must be satisfied that a planning proposal that applies to avoided land identified under the State Environmental Planning Policy (Biodiversity and Conservation) 2021 demonstrates that it is consistent with: (a) the protection or enhancement of native vegetation, (b) the protection or enhancement of riparian corridors, including native vegetation and water quality, (c) the protection of threatened ecological communities, threatened species and their habitats, (d) the protection or enhancement of koala habitat and corridors, and (e) the protection of matters of national environmental significance. (2) A planning proposal authority must be satisfied that a planning proposal that applies to a strategic conservation area identified under the State Environmental Planning Policy (Biodiversity and Conservation) 2021 demonstrates that it is consistent with: (a) the protection or enhancement of native vegetation, (b) the minimisation of impacts on areas of regionally significant biodiversity, including threatened ecological communities, threatened species and their habitats, (c) the protection or enhancement of koala habitat and corridors, including habitat connectivity and fauna movement, and links to ecological restoration areas, and (d) the maintenance or enhancement of ecological function. (3) A planning proposal must not rezone land identified as avoided land in the State Environmental Planning Policy (Biodiversity and Conservation) 2021 to: (a) a rural, residential, employment, mixed use, SP1 Special Activities, SP2 Infrastructure, SP3 Tourist, SP4 Enterprise, SP5 Metropolitan Centre, RE2 Private Recreation, W4 Working Waterfront or equivalent zone. (4) A planning proposal must not rezone land identified as a strategic conservation area in the S tate Environmental Planning Policy (Biodiversity and Conservation) 2021 to: (a) RU4, RU5, RU6, residential, employment, mixed use, SP1 Special Activities, SP2 Infrastructure, SP3 Tourist, SP4 Enterprise, SP5 Metropolitan Centre, RE2 Private Recreation, W4 Working Waterfront or equivalent zone. Consistency A planning proposal that proposes to rezone land identified as avoided land or a strategic conservation area under the State Environmental Planning Policy (Biodiversity and Conservation) 2021 to Zone SP2 Infrastructure may be inconsistent with the terms of this direction only if the relevant planning authority can satisfy the Planning Secretary (or an officer of the Department nominated by the Secretary) that planning proposal demonstrate that: (a) the rezoning is to facilitate infrastructure that is required to service or support development within nominated areas; and (b) the planning proposal is consistent with the Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan Guidelines. Note: In this direction: ‘nominated area’ means the Greater Macarthur Growth Area, the Greater Penrith to Eastern Creek Investigation Area, the Western Sydney Aerotropolis and the Wilton Growth Area. ‘Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan Guidelines’ has the same meaning as in the State Environmental Planning Policy (Biodiversity and Conservation) 2021. Date commenced: 20 February 2023
This is an unofficial reproduction provided for convenience. It is not the official version of the legislation. For the official, in-force version, see legislation.nsw.gov.au.
Reproduced from the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (planning.nsw.gov.au), © State of New South Wales, under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Text extraction may introduce minor formatting artefacts — rely on the official source for anything decision-critical.