Reference Data · New South Wales
Central Coast DCP: the dwelling controls, as published.
6 controls for low-density residential — dwelling houses, taken from Central Coast Development Control Plan 2022 — Chapter 2.1 Dwelling Houses, Secondary Dwellings and Ancillary Development. 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 6 controls Central Coast 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.
Central Coast Council — published dwelling controls
| Control | Published value | Qualifier |
|---|---|---|
| Front setback | 4.5 m | To a local road on lots >300m2: average of the setbacks of the nearest 2 dwelling houses within 40m on the same primary road boundary (prevailing line); if 2 dwelling houses are not within 40m — 4.5m. Lots up to 300m2 on a local road — 3.0m. To a Classified Road — 7.5m. Garages/carports minimum 1m behind the front boundary setback. |
| Secondary street setback | 2 m | — |
| Side setback | 0.9 m | assessed on merit below 12.5 m frontage |
| Rear setback | 3 m | — |
| Site coverage | 60% ≤450 m² → 50% ≤900 m² → 40% ≤1500 m² → 30% | — |
| Private open space | 24 m² | — |
Source: Central Coast Development Control Plan 2022 — Chapter 2.1 Dwelling Houses, Secondary Dwellings and Ancillary Development. Clauses: 2.1.2.2 Site Coverage; 2.1.3.1 Setbacks – Residential Lots (Table 1); 2.1.4.3 Private Open Space Areas. Open the source DCP.
Qualifications that change how these read
- Site-coverage tiers are lot-area based and apply to residential dwelling houses (monotonically decreasing).
- Rear boundary setback (to a private allotment): single-storey wall may be 0.9m for a maximum width of 50% of the rear-boundary length; any part up to 4.5m high — 3m; any part greater than 4.5m high — 6m. To a parallel road or public reserve — 3.0m. rear_setback_m recorded as 3 (ground-storey / up-to-4.5m value).
- Side boundary setback for lots >12.5m wide at the building line: 0.9m for parts up to 4.5m high; above 4.5m — 0.9m plus one-quarter of the height above 4.5m. Lots up to 12.5m wide may build to 0 (zero) on one side only for a max length of 10m; lots less than 8m wide may build to 0 for the lesser of 20m or 50% of lot depth (side_merit_below_frontage_m = 12.5m threshold).
- Secondary boundary setback (corner lots) = 2m.
- Private open space is by lot WIDTH not area: 24m2 for lots >10m wide at building line, 16m2 for lots <10m wide; minimum dimension 3m. pos_min_sqm recorded as 24 (standard wider-lot case); the 16m2 reduction is width-based so pos_small_site (area-based) fields left null.
- No numeric landscaped-area or deep-soil requirement in Chapter 2.1 — deep soil is referenced only as a setback objective; landscaped fields left null.
- Floor Space Ratio is map-dependent (Central Coast LEP 2022 FSR Map, Clause 4.4) — not a fixed number in the DCP.
- A separate 'Setbacks – Large Lots' table (2.1.3.2) applies to lots zoned RU1/RU2/RU6/C2/C3/C4/R5 (10m front / 10m rear / 2.5m side / 5m secondary) — this is NOT the standard R2 low-density case and was excluded.
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 Central Coast Council before making decisions.
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