In November 2016, Roche Group Pty Ltd (‘proponent’) submitted a Planning Proposal (‘proposal’) to Inner West Council. A revised Planning Proposal was submitted to Council in June 2017 to address concerns relating to building height, zoning and urban design.

After Council declined to support the revised proposal within 90 days of lodgement, the Planning Proposal was subject to a Rezoning Review request. In October 2017, the Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel (‘Panel’) determined the Planning Proposal should be submitted for Gateway Determination. The Panel also appointed itself as the relevant Planning Proposal Authority. That means that Council does not have the authority to be the final decision making body for this proposal.

In November 2018, a Gateway Determination was issued for the proposal. The Gateway contained conditions which require the Planning Proposal to be updated prior to public exhibition.

In June 2019, the proponent submitted a revised proposal and was subsequently placed on public exhibition between 1 October – 29 October 2019.

On 17 September 2020, the Panel considered that further amendments to the proposal were required to address concerns expressed by the community and deferred making a decision.

On 1 December 2020, the Panel determination recommended to the Minister that the amended proposal should proceed for finalisation. The final proposal as determined by the Panel includes the following:

• Retention of IN2 Light Industrial zone
• Residential flat buildings as a permitted use subject to ongoing provision of floor space for employment and creative uses
• Minimum provision of 6,000sqm of floor space for light industrial use of which 1,200sqm is for creative purposes.
• Maximum building height of 23m or 6 storeys
• Maximum floor space ratio of 2.2:1
• Provision of 5% of floor space for affordable housing

The proposal was therefore finalised by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) as part of Amendment No.18 to Leichhardt Local Environmental Plan 2013 (LLEP 2013) and was gazetted on 26 February 2021.

A draft site-specific DCP is now on public exhibition to address the matters. View the Leichhardt Local Environmental Plan 2013 amendment.

No, the draft DCP will not replace the existing Leichhardt DCP 2013. It will only apply to 469-483 Balmain Road, Lilyfield and work in tandem with the other controls in the Leichhardt DCP 2013.

No. A DCP must be adopted by Council before a future Development Application can be approved.

A Local Environmental Plan (LEP) is a legal document that regulates land use and development. It determines what can be built, where it can be built, and what activities can occur on land. An LEP guides planning decisions for a local government area.

LEPs are supplemented by development control plans (DCPs), which provide more detailed planning controls for an area.

A DCP must be read in conjunction with the provisions of the relevant LEP.

On 26 February 2021 changes were made to the Leichhardt Local Environmental Plan 2013 for the site. Changes were made to facilitate a mixed use development on the site that will contain residential dwellings above employment floor space that will be dedicated to light industrial and creative uses. Key changes also include adaptive reuse of existing character buildings, minimum requirement for affordable housing and public domain improvements. 

A DCP gives guidance to development and normally supports the aims and objectives of a Local Environmental Plan (LEP), which outlines statutory development controls such as zoning, maximum building heights and floorspace ratios (density).

A DCP provides detailed controls and standards for addressing development issues at a local level. A consent authority, such as a Council, is required to take a DCP into consideration when determining a Development Application.