New Draft Liverpool LEP

10 October 2024

Liverpool City Council has submitted their comprehensive amendment of the Liverpool Local Environmental Plan to the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure for Gateway Determination. The amendments were endorsed by Council in May 2024 and refinements have occurred since.

An exhibition of the amendments is targeted for the 2025, but the changes are wide-spread and worth understanding. The key changes are as follows:

Changes to the Liverpool City Centre provisions:

Reduce commercial GFA requirement from 20% to 15% for bonus height and FSR.
Introduce Build-to-Rent as a "commercial use" for the purpose of receiving bonus height and FSR controls.
Allow Clause 4.6 Variations to site size and street frontages (but not height or FSR bonuses).
Identify 3 new sites within the Liverpool City Centre to receive uplift and promote mixed use development.

Changes to Residential Zones:

Downzone select sites from R4 High Density and R3 Medium Density to R2 Low Density.
Limit building height and FSR within the R4 zone to 12m and 0.9:1 (some exclusions apply to certain sites).
Permit dual occupancies in R1 and R3, and shop top housing in R2.
Set a maximum height of 9m and 25% landscaping for R3. No FSR control will apply.
Amend minimum lot sizes for subdivision and certain uses within R2 and R3 zoned land.

Commercial, Business and Industrial:

Adjust height and FSR controls in E1 and E3 zones, mostly reducing limits.
Minor changes to bulky goods and industrial zones.

Environmental Zones and Controls:

Permit additional uses in specific environmental and public recreation zones.
Rezone several sites to RE1 Public Recreation, including 363 community land sites and 4 future pocket parks that are identified in the Liverpool City Centre Masterplan.
Incorporate additional environmental provisions relating to urban heat, WSUD, landscaping, recycled water, terrestrial biodiversity, etc.

Reach out to the Beam Team if you are interested in understanding these amendments further.