Northern Region

Mid North Coast Regional Strategy

The Mid North Coast extends along 532 kilometres of NSW’s spectacular coastline, and over 29,000 square kilometres. It features World Heritage areas, rainforests, gorges with wild scenic rivers, an abundance of lakes and estuaries, pristine beaches and offshore islands – undoubtedly 'a region of opportunity'. Highly valued as a place to live and a popular holiday destination, it continues to attract people seeking a lifestyle change or place to retire. 

By 2031, the Mid North Coast population is expected to grow more than 28% to around 424,400. The purpose of the Regional Strategy is to ensure that the Mid North Coast can continue to prosper over the next 25 years while protecting areas of high environmental, cultural and resource value. 

The NSW Government's 25-year strategy for sustainable development ensures:

• a supply of new residential land can be provided in the right locations to respond to population increases and assisting with housing affordability. The Strategy caters for 59,600 new homes by 2031 for a forecast population increase of 94,000
• a surplus of well-planned employment land is available to support an additional 48,500 jobs for new and existing residents
• 'green breaks' are in place between urban areas, protecting areas of high scenic value along with rainforests, wetlands, estuaries and significant farmland
• increased opportunities for medium-density housing in key centres to match the ageing of the Region's population
• new growth is linked to infrastructure provision, incorporating new regional infrastructure identified in the State Infrastructure Strategy.

The Strategy maps growth areas that are available for future urban development. These areas aim to reinforce the Region’s settlement hierarchy while supporting scenic green breaks between coastal communities and protecting important assets and resources. 

The Regional Strategy, will guide local planning in the eight local government areas of Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Bellingen, Nambucca, Kempsey, Port Macquarie-Hastings, Greater Taree and Great Lakes, and be reviewed every five years.

The strategy

• Mid North Coast Regional Strategy - in full, including all maps but at a lower resolution [ 5.0 MB]
• Map - Mid North Coast Regional Strategy [higher resolution 10 MB]
• Map - Mid North Coast Regional Strategy [lower resolution 1.8 MB]
• Map - Natural resources and hazards
• Map - Biodiversity
• Map: Growth areas:
  • Map 1 - Clarence north
  • Map 2 - Clarence south
  • Map 3 - Coffs Harbour
  • Map 4 - Bellingen
  • Map 5 - Nambucca
  • Map 6 - Kempsey
  • Map 7 - Port Macquarie–Hastings
  • Map 8 - Greater Taree
  • Map 9 - Great Lakes north
  • Map 10 - Great Lakes south

Fact sheets

• Fact sheet: Mid North Coast Regional Strategy
• Fact sheets: How the Mid North Coast Strategy will help the four subregions:
  • Clarence
  • Coffs Coast
  • Hastings - Macleay Valley
  • Manning Valley - Great Lakes
• Fact sheet: North Arm Cove
• Fact sheet: Growth areas

Coastal green breaks

The strategy supports coastal green breaks between areas of urban settlement.

• Fact sheet: Coastal green breaks
• Photos of areas protected through the green break policy:
  • Sugarcane farming at the Clarence Valley
  • Wetland near Tucabia in the Clarence Valley
  • Hearns Lake south of Woolgoolga
  • Coastal view from Middle Brother Mountain south of Camden Haven
  • Maria River wetland near Port Macquarie
  • Smiths Lake near Forster
  • Myall Lakes bushland near Tuncurry

Supporting guidelines and reports

• Settlement planning guidelines: Mid and Far North Coast regional strategies (Department of Planning 2007) - assists councils in preparing a local growth management strategy to achieve the planning outcomes and actions in the Far North Coast Regional Strategy and the Mid North Coast Regional Strategy.
• North Coast urban design guidelines (Department of Planning 2009) - a resource document to assist in advancing quality urban design on the North Coast of NSW
• Mid North Coast farmland mapping project - identifies important areas of farmland to be protected from urban and rural residential development

Other useful information

Living and working in rural areas: a handbook for managing land use conflict issues on the NSW North Coast (Department of Primary Industries 2007) - gives guidance on assessing and managing conflict, including recommended buffer distances between land uses. The handbook provides important detail for councils and land managers to help them implement the requirements of the Regional Strategy.

Enquiries

Phone the Northern Region office 02 6641 6600 or Hunter Region office 02 4904 2700, or email northcoast@planning.nsw.gov.au