A Development Control Plan (DCP) is a planning instrument. It contains city-wide design guidelines and environmental considerations, which support and provide additional detail to the Maitland Local Environmental Plan 2011.

As of 2025, Maitland’s DCP (MDCP) in its current form has not undergone a full rewrite and review since its inception. In that time, Maitland has seen significant population growth, and changes in the development industry; this has led to a series of inconsistencies between the DCP and Maitland Council’s strategic directions, policies, practice notes, standards and development guidelines.

The new draft MDCP 2025 seeks to address these inconsistencies, by conducting a full review of the structure and contents, Council resolutions, current policies, procedures and development industry best practice.

How has the MDCP review been conducted?

Maitland City Council has worked closely with a range of stakeholders to address inconsistencies with its 2011 MDCP during this review process. This has included engaging with agencies at other levels of government, industry representative bodies, industry groups, elected representatives, and community reference groups.

Following extensive key stakeholder workshops and liaison, a draft MDCP 2025 was presented to Maitland's councillors for endorsement. A draft version of the MDCP 2025 is now on public exhibition and available for public comment until [closing date].

Following the community consultation period, all formal submissions made on the draft DCP will be considered within a Response to Submissions Report. This Response to Submissions Report and the draft DCP will then be tabled for Maitland councillors consideration and adoption at an upcoming council meeting, after which it will be effective from the date of endorsement.

The draft MDCP 2025 has been restructured to make it easier to use, with topics grouped by environmental and development consideration. This was previously not the case in the MDCP 2011.

The restructured document adopts plain English, tabled content, concise development controls, and aligns development controls with their relevant and related objective, to ensure more consistent and clear development assessment into the future.

Development controls have also been further categorised to ensure clear development outcomes are communicated clearly. This has resulted in controls being defined as either a ‘Prescriptive Control’ or an ‘Acceptable Solution’ control.

Overview of the new MDCP chapters

Chapter 1: Introduction and Administration

This chapter contains general matters that relate to the commencement, status, application, and function of the MDCP. It also provides information relating to the preparation of a development application, public notification, and post determination matters.

Chapter 2: Environmental Considerations

This chapter provides detailed controls and current best policy relating a wide range of considerations, such as environmental, vegetation, flood, and environmental hazard management. The provisions of this section relate to matters such as biodiversity, tree removal permits, other vegetation clearing, flooding, bushfire, mine subsidence, and other similar aspects.

Chapter 3: Site Requirements

This chapter provides a broad range of controls relating to the construction and operational elements of a development. It broadly captures controls and acceptable solutions that relate to matters such as earthworks, retaining walls, stormwater, parking, vehicle access, waste, sustainability, and social impact.

Chapter 4: Heritage

This chapter provides comprehensive controls around the treatment of heritage. Broadly, this chapter covers Aboriginal heritage, state and locally listed heritage items, and heritage conservation areas, in relation to their preservation, restoration and sensitive urban design.

Chapter 5: Subdivision

This chapter gives applicants a detailed set of controls and acceptable solutions to work to in realising effective subdivision outcomes. It provides provisions relating to a vast range of matters, including utilities, landscaping, context-specific lot types, size and dimensions, and street layout relating to residential, rural, industrial and commercial subdivisions.

Chapter 6: Residential Uses

This chapter provides the requirements around the design of residential accommodation. It covers a series of housing typologies, including dwelling houses, dual occupancies, multi-dwelling housing, and residential flat buildings.

Chapter 7: Commercial Uses

This chapter contains detailed controls and acceptable solutions surrounding the design of commercial premises and their interaction with the public domain in many commercial centres. The provisions of this chapter relate to scale and bulk, built form, place activation, servicing and architectural design.

Chapter 8: Industrial Uses

This chapter provides a set of controls and acceptable solutions around matters to be addressed when undertaking industrial development. This includes in relation to aspects of development including building design, landscaping, setbacks, fencing, signage, impervious area, and waste management.

Chapter 9: Rural and Other Land Uses

This chapter covers a wide range of different land uses throughout the LGA. With a primary focus on the rural aspect of development, including agricultural and agritourism, and a series of land uses not otherwise identified in other chapters, such as animal boarding establishments, cemeteries, and places of public worship.

Chapter 10: Precincts, Locality Plans, and Urban Release Areas

This chapter covers three key elements of the MDCP that provide a series of site-specific controls and acceptable solutions to particular areas of the Maitland local government area. These take a variety of forms, including:

• Special precincts around certain commercial and infrastructure assets that require additional environmental or design considerations,

• Locality plans associated with particular urban areas that require a degree of localised place planning, and

• Urban release areas that address development provisions required under Section 6.3 of the MLEP 2011.

Council’s Manual of Engineering Standards outlines specifications and guidelines to support the delivery of safe, functional and cost-effective civil infrastructure for the Maitland community. It streamlines the assessment of engineering submissions and helps ensure compliance with community expectations. The MoES is a key resource for designers, Council staff and consultants preparing Development Applications, Subdivision Works Certificates, Roads Act Applications, Construction Certificates and Construction Drawings. The MoES supplements the Maitland Development Control Plan.

We're reviewing the MoES to update its specifications in line with current industry standards, including the Australian Rainfall and Runoff, national guidelines and publications and best practices adopted by local councils. The review aims to improve consistency, provide clearer guidance and simplify requirements, making the Manual more user-friendly and effective in supporting the delivery of infrastructure.

We collaborated with a range of stakeholders to address inconsistencies, improve clarity, and update specifications in the MoES as part of the review process. This included engagement with various Council departments, external agencies and industry representatives.

Following extensive workshops and consultation, a revised MoES was prepared and presented to Maitland councillors for endorsement. The draft Manual is now on public exhibition and open for community feedback.

Following the community consultation period, all formal submissions on MoES will be reviewed and addressed in a Response to Submissions Report. This report, along with the revised MoES, will be presented to Maitland councillors for endorsement at an upcoming Council meeting. Once endorsed, the updated Manual will take effect from the date of endorsement.

It is structured into four key documents covering general requirements, lot-scale engineering, design and construction, with interconnected references to ensure consistency across all stages of development.

• Document G: General Requirements – Outlines overarching principles and procedures applicable to multiple documents, covering the entire project lifecycle from design to handover.

• Document L: Lot Scale Engineering – Provides guidance for small-scale developments such as dual occupancies, small subdivisions and commercial sites that do not involve major public infrastructure.

• Document D: Design – Sets out design standards for larger developments requiring public infrastructure such as roads and drainage, including earthworks and lot filling.

• Document C: Construction – Defines construction standards to ensure safety, quality, and regulatory compliance throughout the build process.

Supplementary Technical Documents and Appendices (including standard drawings, erosion and sediment control, street tree guidelines, best practices and street lighting design) support and expand Council’s MoES. Located outside the main documents, they are intended for use across various processes by developers, Council programs, and resident-exempt developments.

Overall, MoES serves as an integrated resource to support consistency, ensuring that infrastructure is safe, functional, cost-effective to maintain and aligned with community expectations.