Reference Data · New South Wales
Byron Shire DCP: the dwelling controls, as published.
7 controls for low-density residential — dwelling houses, taken from Byron Shire DCP 2014 — Chapter D1 Residential Accommodation in Urban, Village and Special Purpose Zones (adopted 27 Jan 2026, effective 23 Feb 2026). As at 2026-08-05.
NSW has no statewide dwelling setback or site-coverage standard. The LEP sets zone, height and FSR; the numbers that shape a build sit in each council's DCP. Below are the 7 controls Byron Shire publishes numerically. Anything its DCP assesses on merit rather than a fixed number is simply absent from this table — it is not a zero, and it is not a permission.
Byron Shire — published dwelling controls
| Control | Published value | Qualifier |
|---|---|---|
| Front setback | 4.5 m | Local roads: minimum 4.5 m from primary front boundary. Classified roads: 9 m (variation to 6.5 m for single-storey dwellings/elements). Garages and carports: 5.5 m from front boundary (except classified roads, where 9 m applies). Rear lane/unformed road: 3 m (4.5 m if it is the primary frontage). |
| Secondary street setback | 3 m | — |
| Side setback | 0.9 m | — |
| Minimum boundary setback | 0.9 m | — |
| Rear setback | 0.9 m | — |
| Landscaped area | 25% | deep-soil requirement applies |
| Private open space | 30 m² | — |
Source: Byron Shire DCP 2014 — Chapter D1 Residential Accommodation in Urban, Village and Special Purpose Zones (adopted 27 Jan 2026, effective 23 Feb 2026). Clauses: D1.2.2 Setbacks from Boundaries; D1.3.2 Landscaping; D1.3.3 Private open space. Open the source DCP.
Qualifications that change how these read
- Chapter D1 covers residential accommodation in urban, village and special purpose zones (includes the low-density R2 case); dwelling-house-specific controls are in Section D1.3.
- Front setback of 4.5 m applies to local roads; the 9 m (or 6.5 m single-storey variation) figure is road-class dependent (classified roads only) — not the standard R2 local-street case.
- secondary_street_setback_m = 3 m records the corner-allotment reduction ('Corner allotments on local or secondary roads - setbacks may be reduced to 3m on one frontage'); it is a merit-based 'may be reduced to' allowance on the non-primary frontage, not a separately mandated secondary-street setback.
- Side and rear minimum is 900mm (0.9 m); min_boundary_setback_m records this. Council may consent to walls set back less than 900mm on merit where the wall has no openings and it improves siting/orientation/POS — a general merit provision, not tied to lot frontage width, so side_merit_below_frontage_m left null.
- POS: minimum 30 m² at ground level, not in the front setback, with minimum length and width each of 4 m, excluding vehicle circulation/parking. No small-site reduced minimum is stated.
- Deep soil: at least 25% of the site must be deep-soil area (excludes on-site effluent management areas); recorded as landscaped_flat_pct=25 with landscaped_deep_soil=true.
- No numeric site coverage / building footprint / FSR standard is stated for dwelling houses in this chapter — site_coverage fields left null.
- Dual occupancies and secondary dwellings have a 1.5 m single-storey side/rear setback (D1.2.2 item 3) — not the standard single-dwelling-house case.
How this was compiled, and how far to trust it
These values were extracted from the source DCP and then independently checked against it — one of 28 of 86 councils on this site verified that way. This is a different and lower tier of confidence than our Victorian zone schedules, which are read and verified from the source planning scheme by a person. We do not present the two as equivalent.
A council's DCP can be amended at any time and this page reflects the document as at 2026-08-05. Where a control is absent above, the DCP either sets no number or assesses that parameter on merit.
This information is provided for research and preliminary screening only. It does not constitute professional planning, legal or architectural advice. Always verify with Byron Shire before making decisions.
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