Local Character and Place Guideline

Local character is a key consideration in strategic planning for councils across NSW.

The NSW Government has heard that communities would like local character consideration to be elevated in NSW planning decision making. The NSW Government is actively seeking to encourage neighbourhoods’ people are proud to live in, where the community collaborates with local and state governments to share what they value about their area.

The Local Character and Place Guideline aims to support councils and communities to consider and nurture the unique identity of a place, while at the same time meeting the needs of a changing NSW. This guideline provides tools to help define existing character and set a desired future character that aligns with the strategic direction for an area.

Download the guideline

The guideline includes:

• What is local character?
• Where character and place fits in the planning system
• Who shapes local character
• Tools to understand local character and place
• Integrating character into plan making.

More information

We developed tools to help recognise, enhance and celebrate local character, for more information:

• read our Frequently Asked Questions: Community involvement in local character (PDF, 127 KB)
• download the Glossary of terms (PDF, 155 KB)