Maitland Council seeks community feedback following comprehensive review of Development Control Plan

Maitland City Council is seeking community feedback on its draft 2025 Development Control Plan.

The draft version of Maitland’s updated Development Control Plan, the first since 2011, is currently open for community comment following a review process that took in feedback from a range of stakeholders, including state government, industry bodies, and community groups.

A Development Control Plan (DCP) provides detailed planning and design guidelines to support the objectives and legislative direction of a Local Environmental Plan (LEP).

Maitland City Council Director City Planning Matt Prendergast said, “fourteen years on from the last DCP and 30,000 more residents later, a thorough review of this foundational document was high on our agenda for this financial year.”

“With Maitland growing fast and set to continue along this trajectory for the foreseeable future, there was a growing need to bring our DCP up to date,” Mr Prendergast said.

“Our review has sought to consider the relevance of current development controls against the backdrop of Maitland’s broader development and strategic priorities and propose a range of amended and new controls to address our current context.”

“Our objectives were to make the document clearer, more accessible and easier to read, as well as to ensure greater consistency and alignment with other strategies and legislation, such as the NSW Government’s various State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPPs).”

One notable proposed change in the draft 2025 DCP is a move to incorporate a tiered ‘flood risk precinct’ system across Maitland, where flood-affected areas are categorised by risk – low, medium and high.

The draft 2025 DCP also proposes robust controls and guidance for medium and high-density housing, such as terraces, unit complexes and apartment buildings, something the 2011 iteration of the document didn’t cater for.

The 2025 DCP is now on public exhibition until COB Monday 4 August for the Maitland community to review and put forward feedback.

A series of face-to-face community information sessions are earmarked for dates in June and July across areas such as Rutherford, Ashtonfield, Millers Forest and the Maitland CBD.

Interested residents can also speak with Strategic Planning staff via a DCP hotline, available each Thursday from 1pm to 4pm during the public exhibition period.

More information on the draft DCP, lodging a formal submission, and attending one of the upcoming community information sessions can be found on the Maitland Your Say website.

Upcoming community information sessions 

Maitland Town Hall (Evans Room)
263 High Street, Maitland 
Tuesday 24 June, 4pm to 6pm
Register here

Millers Forest Progress Hall
105 Scotch Creek Road, Millers Forest
Thursday 3 July, 4pm to 5.30pm
Register here

Shamrock Hill Multipurpose Centre
19 Galway Bay Drive, Ashtonfield
Tuesday 8 July, 5.30pm to 7.30pm
Register here

Rutherford Community Centre (Elphick Room)
13 Arthur Street, Rutherford
Friday 11 July, 3.45pm to 5.30pm
Register here