Update February 2026

Council wishes to thank local industry stakeholders, community groups and individuals in the wider community for your interest and engagement with the Kempsey Development Control Plan (DCP) project, particularly throughout the recently completed public exhibition period for the draft DCP document.

We engaged with a wide range of stakeholders, including industry representatives, professionals, local developers, business owners and community groups. Councillor briefings were delivered prior to Christmas 2025. In January 2026, we also hosted a well‑attended Business Breakfast to outline the draft DCP, explain the exhibition process, and discuss broader Shire wide development matters along with Council’s ongoing planning, development, infrastructure, and environmental initiatives. Thank you again to those who have been involved.

Data Received

The Kempsey DCP project page on Your Say Macleay received over one thousand visits during the exhibition period, and over four hundred copies of the draft DCP were downloaded. Council acknowledges and appreciates all comments and submissions received during the public exhibition, which ran from 18 December 2025 to 10 February 2026. This exhibition period has now closed, and the project will move into its final stage.

Page Visits and Downloads

Themes raised

Overall Sentiment

We will continue to review all feedback and submissions to consider the suggestions raised and identify where the draft DCP may benefit from amendment. Updates on the project’s progress will continue to be shared through the DCP Your Say Macleay page here, as we work towards finalising the DCP revision during the first half of 2026.

Overview of progressing the Kempsey Development Control Plan (DCP)

Since conducting a series of community publicity, discussion and workshops Council have been developing a revised Development Control Plan document to address the issues, gaps and outdated regulation that were identified with the current aging (DCP 2013) document. As a result of this significant work, a substantially reorganised draft DCP has been developed to provide a streamlined document. This guide is to assist; advocates, professionals, businesses, property owners and Council — follow clear, step-by-step processes for all parts of local development that need to be considered when applying for development approval. This document has now been approved for public exhibition following the December 2025 Council Meeting.

Ordinary Council Meeting - 16 December 2025

At the December Council Meeting, Council considered Item 10.2, Draft Kempsey Development Control Plan for Public Exhibition, and resolved that Council:

1. approves the revised draft Kempsey Development Control Plan (KDCP) 2026 to proceed to Public Exhibition; and
2. approves a Public Exhibition period through to 10 February 2026, noting that the mandatory period of twenty-eight (28) days commences from 13 January 2026.

DCP Document Layout

Part A – An introductory explanation.

Part B – Addressing critical ‘shire-wide’ requirements, around natural hazard risk, environmental issues, infrastructure and Aboriginal Cultural Heritage where applicable.

Part C – Place specific requirements, where these apply to development within individual heritage and character localities, places and settlements.

Part D – Development requirements in stand-alone sections that cover planning requirements for each development type; residential, rural, commercial and industrial, and

Part E – Supporting information to assist DCP document users with a glossary of planning terms, references sources and supplementary details on heritage items, new areas, parking, landscape and on-site wastewater treatment.

Through this draft DCP we seek to promote the preservation of the valued character of Kempsey’s natural landscape and built environments and support a variety of development that will sustain our Community and Shire into the future.

Local participation

We appreciate the interest and comments from various stakeholders and community members to date, and the substantial discussion and workshopping of the draft DCP undertaken across Council’s specialist teams including Development Assessment, Building Services, Engineering Design, Water and Sewer, Heritage and others has helped to shape and review the draft document.

Previous Exhibition

Council placed the draft document on full public exhibition from Thursday 18 December 2025 to Tuesday 10 February 2026. This exhibition period extended beyond the mandatory 28 days to allow sufficient time for community review, as the “blackout period” from 15 December to 14 January (inclusive) is excluded when calculating public exhibition time.

Thank you to everyone who provided feedback on the draft Kempsey Development Control Plan. This exhibition period CLOSED Tuesday 10 February 2026.