FAQs

A large part of Teralba is already classified as a Heritage Conservation Area (HCA), and the entirety of Teralba (including all properties in the suburb) is already part of a Heritage Precinct.

This means that all properties in Teralba are already subject to some form of heritage protection within the local Council planning context.

The aim of the draft Area Plan and Planning Proposal on exhibition is to help Council clarify what this protection means in the context of development assessments. It will help Council provide clear and consistent information to Teralba property owners who want to make changes to their properties in the future.

Draft Heritage Conservation Area Plan

The draft Heritage Conservation Area Plan on exhibition defines its revised boundaries, and contains objectives and controls for development within the Teralba HCA which are permitted with consent under the Lake Macquarie Local Environmental Plan 2014. The Area Plan will protect and enhance the recognised significance of the place by retaining and enhancing features that characterise Teralba and contribute to its significance.  

Draft Planning Proposal

The draft Planning Proposal aims to give statutory effect to the revised draft Heritage Conservation Area Plan through amendments to the Lake Macquarie Local Environmental Plan 2014. It will permit development outcomes that will protect and enhance the heritage values of the Teralba Heritage Conservation Area. The key changes put forward by the planning proposal are:

• A revised Heritage Conservation Area boundary; and
• Reducing building heights from 10 metres to 8.5 metres for sites south of Railway Street.

This will permit single and two storey development consistent with the bulk and scale of the historic miners’ cottages within this area.

Working Report

The Working Report presents the findings of a review of the Teralba HCA and Precinct by independent consultants.

The purpose of the review was to define the current heritage significance of Teralba HCA, produce a desired future character statement, assess the appropriateness of boundaries, examine the development control framework, identify what items contribute to or detract from the area and develop new development controls for the HCA.

If adopted, the key changes in the Planning Proposal and revised Heritage Conservation Area Plan will:

• amend the boundary of the HCA in the Lake Macquarie Local Environmental Plan 2014 (LMLEP 2014) to better include contributory properties (graded as Contributory 1 and 2), and to capture significant views and vistas that are part of the area’s setting, character and significance
• replace the current Teralba Heritage Precinct with the proposed HCA 
• apply more detailed and targeted planning provisions to the revised HCA 
• introduce contributory gradings of individual properties in the Teralba HCA
• amend the height of buildings map in the LMLEP 2014 from 10 metres (up to three storeys) to 8.5 metres (up to two storeys) within the revised HCA boundary, excluding land north of Railway Street (which remains at 10 metres).

A property does not have to be a listed heritage item to be considered contributory within the HCA:

• Any building that contributes positively to the heritage character and village feel of Teralba is considered to be ‘contributory’.
• Elements considered include the scale of the building, its architectural style, its position on the block, and its likely age.
• A building can be considered ‘contributory’ irrespective of its age if it reflects these elements and makes a positive contribution to the streetscape and wider HCA.
• The intention of the revised HCA boundaries, coupled with the application of significance gradings for individual properties, is to allow for a greater degree of development control for Contributory 1 buildings, while enabling an appropriate degree of flexibility for the development of Contributory 2 and Non-contributory properties.

In 2020, visual inspections of all properties within Teralba HCA were conducted by an independent consultant (Umwelt), from public areas (i.e. footpath areas/road reserves).

Each individual property was assessed for the contribution it made to the heritage significance of the HCA as a whole, and given a grading on the basis of that contribution i.e. Contributory 1, Contributory 2 or Non-contributory.

In February 2021, property owners were notified of their contributory grading and were invited to provide any additional information on the history of their house that would potentially change the grading of their building.

Read the community engagement summary report.

The draft Planning Proposal and Heritage Conservation Area Plan make a number of changes to the way Council will manage development in Teralba. The location of your property and its grading will determine the future development controls applied.

Please refer to the documentation referred to below to find further information relevant to your property.

If you would like to speak with Council staff in more detail about how the draft documents would apply to your property, please call 4921 0333 or email [email protected]. 

Location within the HCA boundary 

To determine if your property is located within the proposed HCA boundary, please refer to the proposed revised HCA boundary map (Figure 1) of the draft Heritage Conservation Area Plan (draft LMDCP 2014, Part 11.3)

If your property is outside of the proposed HCA boundary, the Heritage Conservation Area Plan will not apply to you, however, other planning controls may still apply. 

Property gradings

To view the grading of your property please see Figure 2 of the draft Heritage Conservation Area Plan.

To view the controls that apply to the grading of your property, see section 3.4 of the draft Heritage Conservation Area Plan.

Generally speaking, Contributory 2 and Non-contributory properties within the proposed HCA boundary will be subject to considerably less stringent objectives and controls than Contributory 1 buildings.

At the moment, both Contributory and Non-contributory properties are subject to the same development controls.

The properties have been graded so that the most appropriate development controls can be applied to each individual building. This will help to make sure that owners of Non-contributory properties are not required to comply with controls that are intended to protect heritage values. It also means that owners of Contributory buildings will be able to access clear and consistent information should they wish to make changes to their properties in the future.

The gradings will enable Council to assess development applications for the HCA in a more consistent and efficient manner, and allow us to balance the pressures between development and preserving as much of the heritage character of Teralba as possible.

A Contributory 1 building is a building that makes a significant contribution to the heritage character of the HCA or streetscape.

They are usually earlier buildings, and are generally associated with a significant historical period. They are typically intact, with their architectural style or design features being at least partially original. 

A building does not have to be a listed heritage item to be graded a Contributory 1.

Development proposals for Contributory 1 properties need to achieve a reasonable balance between contemporary living needs and heritage conservation (that is, the protection of the heritage character of the building).

A good example of a Contributory 1 building is the Umwelt offices on York Street. Despite recent additions and renovations, the building is still recognisable as the original Co-Op Store, and contributes in a positive way to the streetscape and to the wider HCA.

A Contributory 2 building is one that does not detract (take away) from the overall heritage character or feel of the HCA or streetscape.

Contributory 2 buildings generally contribute in a positive way to the area by maintaining and reinforcing the scale, materiality, style or general aesthetic (visual) character of a place.

Examples of Contributory 2 buildings may be early buildings that have been somewhat modified or contemporary buildings (infill buildings) built in a ‘heritage’ style.

In Teralba specifically, ‘cottage style’ buildings that are single storey in scale and have some traditional design features (e.g. weatherboard facades, gable roofs, bull-nosed verandahs, etc).

Non-contributory buildings are those that interrupt or detract from the heritage character of the HCA or streetscape.

Non-Contributory buildings make it difficult for visitors to Teralba to notice and appreciate the suburb’s heritage character.

In Teralba, these are buildings that are much larger or higher than those around them (residential buildings that are two or more storeys high, for example), buildings that use clearly non-traditional materials, and buildings that have non-traditional features (such as flat or skillion roofs).