New Federal Village Heritage Area and Items

During the development of the Federal Village Masterplan, the community expressed a desire to preserve the built heritage and rural character of the village.

An action from the Federal Masterplan was to conduct a heritage assessment of the area. This will help inform whether or not a Heritage Conservation Area is established.  

The purpose of a Heritage Conservation Area (HCA) is to protect the significance and setting of the precinct:

• the streetscapes,
• contributory buildings,
• leafy road reserves,
• open spaces,
• landscape, and
• views.

It provides a basis to manage change in a way that retains those values.

It is not about no development, but about the type and scale of development that is appropriate to maintain those values into the future. 

Heritage Items are places which have identified heritage values, and which are managed by formal planning policies. Sympathetic development is permissible provided it retains those heritage values.

In NSW, development applications are required to:

• carry out demolition,
• construct new buildings,
• renovate existing buildings (including constructing extensions, swimming pools and shopfronts), and
• also, in instances of some changes of use, regardless of heritage listing or Heritage Conservation Area status.

Because Federal lies in a water-catchment zone, all development in the area already requires development approval.

If you have a property that is a Heritage Item or within Heritage Conservation Areas, you will need approval before doing some works. 

These are typically replacement or rectification works that would be considered exempt development if the site was not a local heritage item or in a heritage conservation area, and include:

• like for like repair of a malfunctioning window
• replacing rusty gutters and downpipes to match original details
• restoring a front verandah.

View the Heritage Development Exemption Request service