Located on the southern side of Hillvue in Tamworth, the Arcadia Estate has been identified in Council's Blueprint 100 strategy as a major site of residential accommodation for the growing population of the Tamworth region.

The draft site-specific development controls for the Arcadia Estate and proposed change to the Tamworth Regional Development Control Plan 2010 (TRDCP 2010) will be on public exhibition from Monday, 14 March, 2022.

The proposal will be exhibited for a period of one month, closing at 4pm on Thursday 14 April, 2022. Letters have been sent to property owners within the Arcadia Estate's vicinity who may have an interest in this project.

From the exhibition opening, information can also be found in the Public Notices section of Council's website.

The proposed amendment to the TRDCP 2010 and draft site specific development controls for the Arcadia Estate are on public exhibition alongside a Planning Proposal to amend the Tamworth Regional Local Environmental Plan 2010. You can learn more about this project here.

The TRDCP 2010 is reviewed regularly, both on an as-needs basis, and as a scheduled annual review, to ensure that the content remains consistent with the objectives defined by Council in response to consultation with the community and development industry.

In summary, the amendments proposed to the TRDCP 2010 are:

• An introduction of Desired Future Character Statements which are designed to provide objectives for the future development of the Arcadia Estate;
• Preparation of a structure plan that incorporates principles of high quality urban design as they relate to lot orientation, road layout, street amenity, design standards for buildings and linkages between the built form and quality public open space;
• Inclusion of specific controls relating to medium density development located in the identified “compact lots” area in the draft Structure Plan;
• Enabling a combination of 9m and 11m wide local roads within a 20m road reserve;
• Identification of the Burkes Gully corridor as the “green spine” of the precinct, thereby requiring inclusion of the principles of a living stream;
• Inclusion of the draft Structure Plan documents and other supporting diagrams to provide clear and concise information on how to apply the controls and to reduce ambiguity.

The draft development controls will update the current Site-Specific Development Controls for the Arcadia and Bylong Road Precinct in the TRDCP 2010.

Extensive planning has been undertaken for the Arcadia Estate and wider locality including studies that have underpinned earlier rezoning and site-specific development controls, as well as recent structure and infrastructure planning for the area. The land is currently zoned for residential and commercial purposes.

The site was originally rezoned by the publication of Amendment No.12 to the Tamworth Regional Local Environmental Plan (TRLEP) on the NSW Legislation website on 27 October, 2017. The Site-Specific Development Controls for Arcadia and Bylong Road Precinct were adopted by the publication of Amendment No. 11 of the TRDCP 2010 at the Ordinary Council Meeting on 22 August, 2017. Extensive community consultation had already been undertaken in association with the public exhibition of the rezoning and site-specific development controls prior to adoption by Council.

Council initiated additional investigations and “charrette” workshops with the land owners and stakeholders to develop a structure plan which addresses housing diversity, urban design, stormwater management, road and subdivision design and dwelling density targets.

Based on the development of the structure plan, a Planning Proposal for the Arcadia Estate was reported to the Ordinary Council Meeting on 27 April, 2021, with a resolution to obtain a ‘Gateway Determination’ from the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE). The Planning Proposal seeks to amend the Tamworth Regional Local Environmental Plan 2010 to support the outcomes of the “charrette” workshops by enabling an increase in housing density and diversity, residential amenity and supporting the needs of future residents.

As a result, the proposed site-specific development controls have strategic alignment with both Tamworth Regional Council’s principal land use planning strategies and the Regional Plan

The objectives of the draft development controls are to promote a mixture of lot sizes and housing types, incorporate high quality urban design principles, and improve the management of stormwater and natural amenity within Burkes Gully. Based on the objectives, the key amendments proposed to the TRDCP 2010 are:

• An introduction of Desired Future Character Statements which are designed to provide objectives for the future development of the Arcadia Estate and to emphasise the importance of housing diversity, high quality urban design principles and enhancement of Burkes Gully;
• Preparation of a structure plan that incorporates principles of high quality urban design as they relate to lot orientation, road layout, street amentity, design standards for buildings and linkages between the built form and quality public open space;
• Requirement for a minimum net residential density of 10 dwellings per hectare to be implemented across the site. This dwelling density target aims to promote the development of a mixture of housing typology and lot sizes while ensuring lot yield is aligned with infrastructure provisioning. This will be enforced through the draft Development Controls and by a new clause and a dwelling density map in the TRLEP;
• Inclusion of specific controls relating to medium density development located in the identified “compact lots” area in the draft Structure Plan. These include the relaxation of some planning controls in order to facilitate the development of medium density development in these areas. Compact lots (300m² – 450m²) have specifically been identified around high amenity areas, such as the public open spaces, Burkes Gully corridor and the commercial centre;
• Identification of the Burkes Gully corridor as the “green spine” of the precinct, thereby requiring inclusion of the principles of a living stream which enhance the natural features and contribute to the urban landscape and opportunity for passive recreation. Specific controls require the Burkes Gully corridor to have a minimum width of 100m for its entirety and all stormwater basins to be designed as offline structures;
• Enabling a combination of 9m and 11m wide local roads within a 20m road reserve. Council’s Engineering Design Minimum Standards for Subdivision and Development currently do not permit 9m wide local roads, however it is considered that allowing flexibility underpinned by the Structure Plan will contribute to the amenity of the developing neighbourhoods; and
• Inclusion of the draft Structure Plan documents and other supporting diagrams to provide clear and concise information on how to apply the controls and to reduce ambiguity.

The draft Development Controls can be viewed and downloaded under the ‘Review the plans’ heading at the top right of this page.