Statement of Environmental Effects for a Kempsey DA

A Statement of Environmental Effects for a Kempsey Shire Council Development Application must show how your proposal sits with the Kempsey Local Environmental Plan 2013 and the Kempsey Development Control Plan 2013, and how it manages its impacts on neighbours and the surrounding area. Every DA lodged with Kempsey that needs consent must include one, and it is the document the council reads to understand your project.

Kempsey Shire runs along the Macleay River from the service town of Kempsey out to the coastal villages of South West Rocks, Crescent Head, Hat Head and Stuarts Point. Almost everything about developing here is shaped by water: the Macleay River floodplain is one of the most flood-prone in NSW, and the same low-lying land carries some of the most extensive acid sulfate soils on the coast. Your SEE has to meet those constraints head-on. Skip them and the assessment stalls.

• What a Kempsey SEE must address under section 4.15 of the EP&A Act
• The council's common zones and the overlays that commonly bite here
• The common DA types locally and what each SEE focuses on
• How to lodge your DA through the NSW Planning Portal step by step
• Who determines your application — officer, panel, or State body

What Kempsey Shire Council Requires in a SEE

Your SEE must address five matters that map directly onto the section 4.15 assessment the council runs — LEP compliance, DCP compliance, site constraints, neighbour impacts, and the public interest.

Your Statement of Environmental Effects for a Kempsey DA must address five things: how your proposal complies with the Kempsey Local Environmental Plan 2013, how it meets the Kempsey Development Control Plan 2013, the constraints on your specific site, the impacts on your neighbours, and the public interest. These map directly onto the matters a council must weigh under section 4.15 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

The council's principal planning instrument is the Kempsey Local Environmental Plan 2013, a Standard Instrument LEP that commenced in early 2014, supported by the Kempsey Development Control Plan 2013 (KDCP 2013). The LEP sets your land's zone and the development standards that come with it, such as height and minimum lot size. The DCP then sets the design detail: setbacks, landscaping, private open space, parking, flood-compatible construction and privacy. Your SEE needs to walk through each control that applies and either show you comply or justify the variation.

Common Zones and Overlays in Kempsey

Most homes sit in R1, R3 or R5, but the constraint that shapes a Kempsey SEE is almost always Macleay River flood, acid sulfate soils, coastal hazard, bushfire or heritage.

Figure 1: The zones and mapped constraints a Kempsey SEE most often has to address.

Under the Kempsey LEP 2013, most residential land sits in R1 General Residential, R3 Medium Density Residential or R5 Large Lot Residential, with rural land in RU1 Primary Production and RU2 Rural Landscape (and RU5 Village for the smaller settlements), and conservation land in the C2, C3 and C4 environmental zones. Your zone sets what you can build and the standards you must meet.

The constraints mapped over the top are where a Kempsey SEE really lives. Flooding on the Macleay River is the dominant one — Kempsey, West Kempsey and much of the valley are flood-liable, and the DCP sets flood planning levels and flood-compatible construction requirements you must design to. Acid sulfate soils blanket the low-lying Macleay floodplain, so any works that disturb or lower the water table can trigger an acid sulfate soils assessment and management plan. Coastal hazard and foreshore controls apply at South West Rocks, Crescent Head, Hat Head and Stuarts Point, on top of State coastal planning policy. Bushfire hazard affects the shire's forested and rural-fringe land. And heritage items and conservation areas — including the historic riverside village of Gladstone — bring their own controls, alongside koala habitat and biodiversity considerations. A SEE that names the specific constraint on your lot, and shows how the design responds, is far stronger than one that speaks in generalities.

Common DA Types in Kempsey and What Your SEE Must Address

The focus of your SEE shifts with the project type — a Kempsey addition emphasises flood levels and privacy, while a coastal dwelling focuses on hazard and foreshore setbacks.

Most DAs lodged with Kempsey fall into a handful of types, and the focus of your SEE shifts with each one. For alterations and additions in Kempsey or West Kempsey, the SEE concentrates on height, setbacks, privacy and — critically — flood planning levels and flood-compatible construction. For a new or secondary dwelling on the floodplain, floor height above the flood planning level, acid sulfate soils and effluent lead. For a coastal dwelling at South West Rocks or Crescent Head, coastal hazard, foreshore setbacks and views come to the front. For a rural dwelling, bushfire protection, access and vegetation clearing matter most. A DA lodgement checklist for NSW helps you gather the right supporting documents for each.

How to Lodge a DA with Kempsey Shire Council

You lodge every Kempsey DA through the NSW Planning Portal — upload your plans, SEE, owner's consent, and pay the fee; the council registers it and notifies neighbours before assessment begins.

You lodge a Kempsey DA through the NSW Planning Portal at planningportal.nsw.gov.au, the system every NSW council uses. You upload your plans, owner's consent, supporting documents and your SEE, then pay the fee. Our step-by-step guide to lodging a DA in NSW covers the portal mechanics.

Once lodged, the council registers your DA, notifies adjoining owners where required, and assesses it against section 4.15. Kempsey Shire Council is the consent authority for most development, and most straightforward residential DAs are decided by a council officer under delegated authority. More significant or contentious applications, and regionally significant development, are determined by the relevant planning panel for the Mid North Coast — the Northern Regional Planning Panel. For a typical extension, granny flat or pool, expect a council officer to determine it. The biggest cause of delay is an incomplete application or a SEE that does not address the flood and soils controls, which triggers a request for more information. The general DA requirements across NSW councils follow the same legislative base, so a complete Kempsey lodgement looks much like any other.

Do You Need a Town Planner for a Kempsey DA?

For a straightforward residential DA you can prepare the SEE yourself or use a service; a planner is worth it for flood-affected, coastal or acid-sulfate sites.

Not always. For a straightforward residential DA in Kempsey — a single-storey addition, a granny flat, a pool — you can prepare the SEE yourself or use a service rather than engaging a town planner. You are more likely to want a planner where the project is complex: a flood-affected lot on the Macleay floodplain, a site with significant acid sulfate soils, a coastal or foreshore block at South West Rocks or Crescent Head, or one that seeks to vary a development standard. For the common residential cases, a well-structured SEE that addresses the Kempsey LEP 2013 and DCP 2013 is what you need.