New South Wales Consolidated Regulations

SYDNEY REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL PLAN NO 24--HOMEBUSH BAY AREA - REG 24

24 Protection of heritage items and heritage conservation areas

(1) When is consent required? The following development may be carried out only with development consent:

(a) demolishing or moving a heritage item or a building, work, relic, tree or place within a heritage conservation area,

(b) altering a heritage item or a building, work, relic, tree or place within a heritage conservation area by making structural or non-structural changes to its exterior, such as to its detail, fabric, finish or appearance,

(c) altering a heritage item by making structural changes to its interior,

(d) disturbing or excavating a place of Aboriginal heritage significance or an archaeological site while knowing, or having reasonable cause to suspect, that the disturbance or excavation will or is likely to result in a relic being discovered, exposed, moved, damaged or destroyed,

(e) moving the whole or a part of a heritage item,

(f) erecting a building on, or subdividing, land on which a heritage item is located or which is within a heritage conservation area.

(2) What exceptions are there? Development consent is not required by this clause if:

(a) in the opinion of the consent authority:

(i) the proposed development is of a minor nature or consists of maintenance of the heritage item or of a building, work, archaeological site, tree or place within a heritage conservation area, and

(ii) the proposed development would not adversely affect the significance of the heritage item or heritage conservation area, and

(b) the proponent has notified the consent authority in writing of the proposed development and the consent authority has advised the applicant in writing before any work is carried out that it is satisfied that the proposed development will comply with this subclause and that development consent is not otherwise required by this plan.

(3) Development consent is not required by this clause for the following development in a cemetery or burial ground if there will be no disturbance to human remains, to relics in the form of grave goods or to a place of Aboriginal heritage significance:

(a) the creation of a new grave or monument, or

(b) an excavation or disturbance of land for the purpose of carrying out conservation or repair of monuments or grave markers.

(4) What must be included in assessing a development application? Before granting a consent required by this clause, the consent authority must assess the extent to which the carrying out of the proposed development would affect the heritage significance of the heritage item or heritage conservation area concerned.

Note: The website of the Heritage Branch of the Department of Planning has publications that provide guidance on assessing the impact of proposed development on the heritage significance of items (for example, Statements of Heritage Impact ).

(5) What extra documentation is needed? The assessment must include consideration of a "heritage impact statement" that addresses at least the issues set out in subclause (6) (but is not to be limited to assessment of those issues, if the heritage significance concerned involves other issues). The consent authority may also decline to grant such a consent until it has considered a "conservation management plan", if it considers the development proposed should be assessed with regard to such a plan.

(6) The minimum number of issues that must be addressed by the heritage impact statement are:

(a) for development that would affect a "heritage item":

(i) the heritage significance of the item as part of the environmental heritage of the Homebush Bay Area, and

(ii) the impact that the proposed development will have on the heritage significance of the item and its setting, including any landscape or horticultural features, and

(iii) the measures proposed to conserve the heritage significance of the item and its setting, and

(iv) whether any archaeological site or potential historical archaeological site would be adversely affected by the proposed development, and

(v) the extent to which the carrying out of the proposed development would affect the form of any historic subdivision, and

(b) for development that would be carried out in a "heritage conservation area":

(i) the heritage significance of the heritage conservation area and the contribution which any building, work, relic, tree or place affected by the proposed development makes to this heritage significance, and

(ii) the impact that the proposed development would have on the heritage significance of the heritage conservation area, and

(iii) the compatibility of any proposed development with nearby original buildings and the character of the heritage conservation area, taking into account the size, form, scale, orientation, setbacks, materials and detailing of the proposed development, and

(iv) the measures proposed to conserve the significance of the heritage conservation area and its setting, and

(v) whether any landscape or horticultural features would be affected by the proposed development, and

(vi) whether any archaeological site or potential historical archaeological site would be affected by the proposed development, and

(vii) the extent to which the carrying out of the proposed development in accordance with the consent would affect any historic subdivision pattern, and

(viii) the issues raised by any submission received in relation to the proposed development in response to the notification or advertising of the application.