Williamtown Special Activation Precinct

The Williamtown Special Activation Precinct will deliver jobs and growth to the Williamtown area by capitalising on the emerging aerospace industry around Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Williamtown and Newcastle Airport. The area will become a leading defence and aerospace precinct.

Once finalised, the Williamtown Special Activation Precinct master plan will be the 40-year strategic plan for the precinct.

Exhibition of revised draft master plan

During April-June, the department sought feedback from the community, businesses, government agencies and other stakeholders during the exhibition of the draft master plan for the precinct.

Based on feedback from submissions, results from technical studies, findings from engineering work and additional economic analysis, the footprint of the precinct was reduced and the master plan revised accordingly.

The revised draft master plan was exhibited from 25 January 2023 through to 22 February 2023.

We would like to thank the community and other stakeholders for providing feedback on this important plan. Feedback received during both exhibitions will help us better understand the views of the community and stakeholders to inform the final master plan.

The feedback will also help shape the amendment to the State Environmental Planning Policy (Precincts-Regional) 2021 (Precincts Regional SEPP); and the State Environmental Planning Policy (Planning Systems) 2021 (Planning Systems SEPP).

Next steps

The Williamtown Special Activation Precinct master plan is expected to be finalised in 2023.

A state significant development (SSD) application will also be prepared by the Regional Growth NSW Development Corporation to allow a complying development pathway for the precinct. This is due to the extensive site constraints of the Williamtown Special Activation Precinct, as outlined in the draft master plan. The SSD concept plan is expected to be exhibited in 2023.

Once finalised, the corporation will lead the preparation of a delivery plan for the precinct, providing information such as site-specific development controls, specific strategies for managing environmental impact and ongoing monitoring requirements.

The delivery plan will be placed on public exhibition in early 2024, allowing the community and other stakeholders to provide further feedback.

The Port Stephens Local Environmental Plan 2013 will no longer apply to land within the precinct once the master plan is complete. Though there will still be a limited number of clauses that will continue to apply, as outlined in the discussion paper (PDF, 2.6 MB).