The Local Strategic Planning Statement (LSPS) sets our land use vision, and planning principles, priorities and actions for the next 10 years. The statement will be the main way to express the desired future direction for housing, employment, transport, recreation, environment and infrastructure for the Cumberland LGA as a whole, and guides the content of Council’s Local Environmental Plan (LEP) and Development Control Plan (DCP).

As a minimum the LSPS has to contain:

• Our LGA context & background
• Land use vision
• Planning priorities
• Actions
• Implementation and monitoring

The LSPS has to be consistent with the Greater Sydney Commission’s (GSC) Central City District Plan and Councils Community Strategic Plan (CSP). It must be approved by the GSC and must be considered in the preparation of LEPs, DCPs and any future planning proposals. It may also support Council’s consideration and determination of development applications.

Our LSPS will be drafted in Plain English and include maps, images and other visual aids wherever possible. It will be designed to be easily read by anyone in the community wanting to understand:

• Areas that may change in the future
• Areas of special character and importance to the community
• Planning priorities for the Cumberland LGA
• Issues of particular value and how they will be addressed in council’s land use

The Greater Sydney Commission is the statutory body responsible for planning for the future growth of the Sydney Region. They produced the Greater Sydney Region Plan and the Central City District Plan, with which Council’s plans must align.

You can visit the GSC website here.

The Central City District Plan is the Greater Sydney Commission’s plan for the Central City District. The Central City District covers Cumberland, City of Parramatta, Blacktown and The Hills LGAs. It is a 20 year plan to manage growth and covers economic, social and environmental matters of the Central City District. It is the plan we must give effect to, which means our strategic planning must align with this plan. The plan includes actions and priorities around 4 themes of infrastructure, liveability, productivity and sustainability.

You can read the Central City District Plan here.

The State Government and the GSC directed all Councils, through amendments the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979 to make sure their plans align with their District Plan and the Greater Sydney Region Plan. ‘Giving effect’ means to make sure that all strategic plans are consistent with the intent of the Central City District Plan in order to achieve sustainable outcomes at the local level.

An LEP is the main tool used to control development of land in an LGA. It does this through zoning and development controls which provide a framework for the way land can be used. An LEP is prepared by Council but must be approved by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE).

You can see our current LEPs here.

A DCP provides detailed local planning and design guidelines to support the planning controls in an LEP. The DCP includes controls for things like building design, building setbacks, landscaping, privacy, car parking, and waste management for all the different types of development. DCP provisions are prepared by Council and approved by Council following public consultation.

You can see our current DCPs here.

The LSPS is focused on land use, while the CSP is focused on the direction of all of Councils functions. The LSPS will be consistent with the CSP as it has also been developed to be consistent with the Central City District Plan. However, it will not just duplicate the content but will be more focussed on land use development.

Currently, we have 3 LEPs and 3 DCPs covering parts of our LGA, each with their own DCP. This means that there are 3 different approaches to planning across the Cumberland area. This is inconsistent, confusing and unsustainable in the longer term.

Changes to the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979 in March 2018 require all Sydney Councils to review their LEPs to give effect to the new District Plans within 2-3 years. Cumberland Council has been identified as a priority council meaning we must complete our LEP review within 2 years (by mid 2020).

The review process provides a great opportunity to create a new planning vision for Cumberland – a roadmap for managing the way our area and places within in it evolves, in a consistent, sustainable and coordinated way, over the next 10 years and beyond.

The Community Strategic Plan (CSP) is a long term strategic plan that all councils must develop on behalf of their communities in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government Act 1993. It is a shared vision of what the Cumberland community values and aspires to for the next ten years.

Council’s CSP was adopted by Council in # following extensive community consultation. It will guide and inform our decisions in developing our four year Delivery Program and annual Operational Plans that together detail the specific actions that we will take to achieve the strategies and objectives in the CSP.

You can read the Cumberland Community Strategic Plan here.