Planning proposals must retain caravan parks and properly provide for manufactured home estates.
When preparing a planning proposal, the authority must keep provisions permitting caravan parks and retain the zoning of existing caravan parks (or zone equivalently under the Standard Instrument). For manufactured home estates, it must consider Schedule 6 and clause 125 of the Housing SEPP 2021 on suitable locations and principles, and allow MHE subdivision by long-term lease (up to 20 years) or under the Community Land Development Act.
This is a Ministerial Direction under the planning system that councils and other planning authorities must follow when they prepare a planning proposal (a proposal to make or change a Local Environmental Plan, or LEP). Its purpose is to protect the supply of lower-cost and varied housing by making sure that existing caravan parks are not zoned out of existence and that manufactured home estates (MHEs) remain a genuine option in the LEP.
In practice, when a council rewrites its LEP or changes zones, it must keep the ability to run a caravan park on land where that is currently allowed, and keep existing caravan parks in a zone that still permits them. For manufactured home estates, the council must have regard to where SEPP (Housing) 2021 says such estates should not go, apply the assessment principles in that SEPP, and make sure the LEP allows MHEs to be subdivided either by long-term lease (up to 20 years) or under community title.
The direction is about retaining opportunities and provisions, not about approving any particular development. If a council's planning proposal would cut across these requirements, it cannot simply proceed or the authority has to justify the inconsistency to the Planning Secretary via an approved strategy, a supporting study, an applicable regional/district plan, or on the basis that the inconsistency is only minor.
All relevant planning authorities (councils and others) when preparing a planning proposal to make or amend an LEP. It does not bind development applicants or certifiers directly, though it shapes the LEP framework they later work within.
It is triggered whenever a relevant planning authority prepares a planning proposal. It does not apply to Crown land reserved or dedicated under the Crown Land Management Act 2016 (except Crown land reserved for accommodation purposes), or land dedicated or reserved under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.
A planning proposal may be inconsistent only if the authority satisfies the Planning Secretary (or a nominated officer) that the inconsistent provisions are: justified by a strategy approved by the Planning Secretary that considers the objective and identifies the relevant land; or justified by a supporting study that considers the objective; or in accordance with a relevant Regional Strategy, Regional Plan or District Plan prepared by the Department that considers the objective; or of minor significance.
Links to the Standard Instrument (Local Environmental Plans) Order 2006 for zoning; to State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021 (Schedule 6 and clause 125) for MHE location and assessment principles; and to the Community Land Development Act 1989 for MHE subdivision. It replaces the previous Direction 3.2 from 1 March 2022. Inconsistency can also be justified by a relevant Regional Strategy, Regional Plan or District Plan.
The planning proposal must retain provisions that permit development for the purposes of a caravan park to be carried out on land where that is currently allowed.
Existing caravan parks must keep their zoning, or in a new principal LEP be placed in an appropriate Standard Instrument zone that facilitates retention of the existing caravan park.
For manufactured home estates, the authority must take into account the categories of land in Schedule 6 of SEPP (Housing) 2021 identifying where MHEs should not be located.
The authority must take into account the principles in clause 125 of SEPP (Housing) 2021, which are the principles used when assessing and determining MHE development and subdivision proposals.
The LEP must include provisions making the subdivision of MHEs permissible with consent, either by long-term lease of up to 20 years or under the Community Land Development Act 1989.
This directly bites in Kiama, a coastal LGA where caravan parks and holiday/tourist parks are a real part of the accommodation and lower-cost housing stock. When Kiama Council reviews or amends its LEP, it must keep existing caravan parks in a zone that allows them to continue and cannot quietly rezone a coastal park out of that use without justifying the inconsistency to the Planning Secretary. It also means any Kiama LEP work must keep manufactured home estates possible (including subdivision by long-term lease or community title) while having regard to SEPP (Housing) 2021 rules on where MHEs should not be located elrelevant given the LGA's coastal hazard and bushfire-fringe constraints.
6.2 Caravan Parks and Manufactured Home Estates Objectives The objectives of this direction are to: (a) provide for a variety of housing types, and (b) provide opportunities for caravan parks and manufactured home estates. Application This direction applies to all relevant planning authorities when preparing a planning proposal. This direction does not apply to Crown land reserved or dedicated for any purposes under the Crown Land Management Act 2016, except Crown land reserved for accommodation purposes, or land dedicated or reserved under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974. Direction 6.2 (1) In identifying suitable zones, locations and provisions for caravan parks in a planning proposal, the relevant planning authority must: (a) retain provisions that permit development for the purposes of a caravan park to be carried out on land, and (b) retain the zonings of existing caravan parks, or in the case of a new principal LEP zone the land in accordance with an appropriate zone under the Standard Instrument (Local Environmental Plans) Order 2006 that would facilitate the retention of the existing caravan park. (2) In identifying suitable zones, locations and provisions for manufactured home estates (MHEs) in a planning proposal, the relevant planning authority must: (a) take into account the categories of land set out in Schedule 6 of State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021 as to where MHEs should not be located, (b) take into account the principles listed in clause 125 of State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021 (which relevant planning authorities are required to consider when assessing and determining the development and subdivision proposals), and (c) include provisions that the subdivision of MHEs by long term lease of up to 20 years or under the Community Land Development Act 1989 be permissible with consent. Consistency A planning proposal 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 the provisions of the planning proposal that are inconsistent are: (a) justified by a strategy approved by the Planning Secretary which: i. gives consideration to the objective of this direction, and ii. identifies the land which is the subject of the planning proposal (if the planning proposal relates to a particular site or sites), or (b) justified by a study prepared in support of the planning proposal which gives consideration to the objective of this direction, or (c) in accordance with the relevant Regional Strategy, Regional Plan or District Plan prepared by the Department of Planning and Environment which gives consideration to the objective of this direction, or (d) of minor significance. Issued to commence 1 March 2022 (replaces previous Direction 3.2)
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.