City Planning and Development  

Updated August 2022

The City’s future development is guided by the following key Wagga Wagga City Council plans:

• Community Strategic Plan 2040 (2017)

• Wagga Wagga Local Strategic Planning Statement - Wagga Wagga 2040 (2021)

• Wagga Wagga Integrated Transport Strategy and Implementation Plan 2040 (2017)

• Recreation, Open Space and Community Strategy and Implementation Plan 2040

• Wagga Wagga Local Environmental Plan 2010

• Wagga Wagga Development Control Plan 2010

• Wagga Wagga Local Infrastructure Contributions Plan 2019-2034

• Wagga Wagga Health and Knowledge Precinct Master Plan (2019)

In addition to State Government plans such as:

• Wagga Wagga Special Activation Precinct Master Plan (Regional Growth NSW Development Corporation - 2022)

• Wagga Wagga Transport Plan (Transport for NSW - 2022)

The Council also develops Master Plans for various key areas of the city to inform the Development Control Plan. A number of these Master Plans are due for renewal and some precincts will undertake Master Planning for the first time in the near future, such as the CBD Master Plan (due to be updated in 2022) and the Smart Cities Strategic Plan.

The designation of Wagga Wagga as a Growth Centre under the State Governments 2018 20-Year Economic Vision for Regional NSW, with a targeted population of 100,000 people by 2038, and the announcement of the Special Activation Precinct at Bomen in 2019, will require Wagga Wagga City Council plans to be revised to align with this target and address the needs of the city as it grows towards that target. It is expected that Council will progressively update the current plans.

Background

Wagga Wagga City Council proposes to undertake comprehensive reviews and updates of the city’s key planning documents, including the Local Environment Plan and Development Control Plan. It is highly important the reviews of these documents consider the economic benefit of developing flexible, pro-development guidelines that will encourage development activity within the city rather than constrain it. It is critical the process of renewing the documents consists of regular and collaborative consultation with key industry stakeholders to ensure buy-in and support at a local level. 

The importance of a strong, clear plan is evidenced by a comprehensive survey undertaken by C4Wagga’s 65 members in 2017, indicating the LEP is one of the most important community documents. 

It is expected a planning proposal to amend the current LEP will be initiated in mid-2017 and legislated in mid-2018 following the necessary passage through the NSW Department of Planning and Environment’s Gateway Process. In addition, the current LEP will be initiated in 2017 followed by a comprehensive review and renewal in 2018 to ensure the document aligns with the current trends and requirements of development in and around the city.