Phil Beazley – Libertarian Party MidCoast Councillor

Tagged blog, Draft LEP, land zones

This post is about macro level changes to RU1 land which will take place at the time of gazettal of the Draft LEP. My next post will analyse RU1 land that will become RU2 but for now I’ll look at the land that will remain as RU1. Shown below is a screenshot of the whole LGA and their current zonings.

And below is shown the Draft LEP zonings.

Straight away it’s obvious that there are big changes in the old Taree and Gloucester council areas. The colouring of the zones can make the zone changes difficult to see, so below I’m showing only the current RU1 zones.

And below are the Draft RU1 zones.

HUGE areas, covering almost half of our LGA, will no longer be the least restrictive rural zone, RU1. Looking at the remaining RU1 zone around Gloucester it’s worthwhile to see how that zone will change. You’ll find the conditions placed on the current and draft RU1 zones here.

This is an AI analysis of a comparison between the current and draft.

Summary of Key Changes

Objectives: The proposed zone adds two new objectives: promoting small-scale rural tourism and maintaining rural landscape character.
Permitted without consent: Home businesses are upgraded (from ‘with consent’ to ‘without consent’); Forestry and Viticulture are downgraded to ‘with consent’; Extensive agriculture remains, but Horticulture is removed from this list.
Permitted with consent: Major additions include Agritourism, Artisan food & drink industries, Tourist & visitor accommodation, Secondary dwellings, and various industrial-type uses (Depots, Timber yards, Transport depots). Many rural tourism uses (e.g., Farm stay, Eco-tourist facilities) are retained but renamed/regrouped.
Prohibited: Drastic expansion of prohibited uses. Previously, only unspecified uses were prohibited. Now, 50+ specific uses are banned, including Airports, Backpackers’ accommodation, Caravan parks, Restaurants or cafes, Shops, Service stations, Hotels/motels, and most residential accommodation (except dwellings, dual occ, group homes, secondary dwellings, rural workers’ dwellings).

Detailed Comparison Table

Provision	Current RU1	Proposed RU1	Change
Zone Objectives	5 objectives: sustainable primary production, diversity, minimise fragmentation/alienation, minimise conflict, encourage eco-tourism (minimising adverse effect on production & scenic amenity)	6 objectives: first 4 identical, then adds: • Provide for small-scale & complementary rural tourism in association with primary industry capability • Maintain rural landscape character	Eco-tourism de-emphasised (now part of broader tourism); new focus on small-scale tourism and landscape character; scenic amenity no longer explicitly linked to eco-tourism
Permitted w/o consent	Environmental protection works; Extensive agriculture; Forestry; Home occupations; Horticulture; Roads; Viticulture	Environmental protection works; Extensive agriculture; Home businesses; Home occupations	Added: Home businesses (was with consent). Removed: Forestry, Horticulture, Roads, Viticulture (all now with consent or prohibited?) – Roads not listed in w/o or with consent? Check: Roads appear under ‘Permitted with consent’ in proposed – yes.
Permitted with consent (selected highlights)	Agricultural produce industries; Agriculture; Airports; Airstrips; Animal boarding; Aquaculture; Backpackers’ accommodation; B&B; Camping grounds; Caravan parks; Cellar door; Cemeteries; Community facilities; Dual occ; Dwelling houses; Eco-tourist facilities; Educational; Emergency services; Extractive industries; Farm buildings; Farm stay; Flood mitigation; Function centres; Home businesses; Home industries; Intensive livestock/plant ag; Kiosks; Open cut mining; Recreation areas/facilities (outdoor); Restaurants or cafes; Roadside stalls; Rural industries; Veterinary hospitals; Waste transfer stations	Agritourism; Airstrips; Animal boarding; Aquaculture; Artisan food/drink; Boat ramps/sheds; Camping grounds; Cemeteries; Community facilities; Crematoria; Depots; Dual occ; Dwelling houses; Eco-tourist facilities; Educational; Electricity generating works; Emergency services; Environmental facilities; Extractive industries; Farm buildings; Flood mitigation; Forestry; Function centres; Group homes; Helipads; Home-based child care; Home industries; Home occupations (sex services); Info/education; Intensive livestock/plant ag; Jetties; Landscaping material supplies; Markets; Open cut mining; Places of worship; Plant nurseries; Recreation areas; Recreation facilities (major & outdoor); Respite day care; Research stations; Roads; Roadside stalls; Rural industries; Rural supplies; Rural workers’ dwellings; School-based child care; Secondary dwellings; Sewerage systems; Signage; Telecom; Timber yards; Tourist & visitor accommodation; Transport depots; Truck depots; Veterinary hospitals; Waste management/transfer stations; Water recreation structures; Water supply systems; Wharf/boating; Any development not specified in item 2 or 4	Major additions: Agritourism, Artisan food/drink, Depots, Group homes, Helipads, Home-based child care, Landscaping material supplies, Markets, Recreation facilities (major), Rural supplies, Secondary dwellings, Timber yards, Tourist & visitor accommodation, Transport depots, Truck depots, Waste management facilities. Removed (or moved to prohibited?): Airports (now prohibited), Backpackers’ accommodation (prohibited), B&B (? not listed – prohibited as residential accommodation?), Caravan parks (prohibited), Cellar door (maybe subsumed into Agritourism/Artisan food?), Kiosks (prohibited), Restaurants/cafes (prohibited). Retained: Most primary production and rural uses.
Prohibited	Any development not specified in item 2 or 3 (i.e., default prohibition only)	Specific list of 50+ uses, including: Airports; Air transport facilities; Amusement centres; Backpackers’ accommodation; Brothels; Caravan parks; Car parks; Centre-based child care; Charter tourism boating; Commercial premises; Correctional centres; Early education & care; Entertainment facilities; Exhibition homes/villages; Freight transport facilities; Funeral homes; Heavy industrial storage/industries; Health services facilities; Heliports; Highway service centres; Hotel/motel accommodation; Industrial retail outlets/training facilities; Industries; Kiosks; Local distribution premises; Marinas; Moorings/mooring pens; Mortuaries; Neighbourhood shops; Passenger transport facilities; Public admin buildings; Port facilities; Recreation facilities (indoor); Registered clubs; Residential accommodation (except as allowed in with-consent list?); Restaurants or cafes; Restricted premises; Storage premises; Serviced apartments; Service stations; Sex services premises; Shops; Vehicle body repair/repair stations; Warehouse or distribution centres; Wholesale supplies	Dramatic change: From a default prohibition to a specific, long blacklist. Many uses that were ‘with consent’ in current RU1 (e.g., Airports, Backpackers’, Caravan parks, Kiosks, Restaurants/cafes) are now explicitly prohibited. Residential accommodation is broadly prohibited except for specific forms allowed with consent (dwellings, dual occ, group homes, secondary dwellings, rural workers’ dwellings).

Notable Practical Implications

Tourism: Current RU1 allows eco-tourist facilities, farm stay, backpackers’, camping, caravan parks, B&B, cellar door with consent. Proposed RU1 allows agritourism, tourist & visitor accommodation, camping grounds, eco-tourist facilities with consent, but prohibits backpackers’, caravan parks, B&B (unless ‘tourist & visitor accommodation’ covers B&B? – likely not, as B&B is a specific use elsewhere). This suggests a shift away from budget/large-scale tourism toward smaller-scale, farm-integrated agritourism.
Residential: Current RU1 allows dwelling houses and dual occupancies with consent. Proposed adds secondary dwellings and rural workers’ dwellings with consent, but prohibits all other ‘residential accommodation’ (which would include multi-dwelling housing, residential flat buildings, etc.).
Commercial: Current RU1 allows restaurants/cafes, kiosks, roadside stalls, function centres with consent. Proposed allows roadside stalls, function centres, markets, but prohibits restaurants/cafes, kiosks, shops, commercial premises. This significantly limits retail/food service.
Heavy industry: Both zones prohibit heavy industry (explicitly in proposed; via default in current). Current allows extractive industries, open cut mining with consent; proposed retains that.
Forestry & horticulture: Downgraded from ‘permitted without consent’ to ‘with consent’, giving council more control.

Overall Planning Direction

The proposed RU1 zone is more restrictive on non-primary-production uses, especially commercial tourism, retail, and residential development. It seeks to protect rural landscape character and channel tourism through ‘agritourism’ tied directly to primary production capability, rather than standalone visitor accommodation or eateries.

Farmers, tourism operators and residents would need to carefully review these changes, as they significantly alter what can and cannot be done on land currently zoned RU1. Uses like existing caravan parks or B&Bs may become prohibited uses if redeveloped.

Have those affected reviewed the changes, were all involved made sufficiently aware of these alterations?

Land Use Changes in the North-West of the MCC after Gazettal of the Draft LEP

blog

LEP

7 min
11

I’ve been investigating what areas will be rezoned when the MCC Draft Land & Environment Plan is gazetted later in the year. To do this I’ve looked at corners of the area using the Mapping Portal available at https://cloudmaps.midcoast.nsw.gov.au/ To understand the […]

6 April 2026

Tagged blog, Draft LEP, land zones

New posts

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Comment

1 min

There haven’t been any for a while unfortunately, however over the weekend I’ll be reviewing what’s been taking place in council and updating my blog. Cheers

27 March 2026

Tagged blog, comment

The Architecture of Australia’s Housing Crisis

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Comment

6 min
5

It’s Not One Thing. It’s A System Of Decades of Policy Choices While Council has some ability to assist in the provision of low cost housing, we lose sight of the role that Federal and State Governments have played in creating the […]

7 March 2026

Tagged blog, comment

Pelican Boardwalk extension

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Comment

2 min

MidCoast Council will further extend the popular Pelican Boardwalk on Memorial Drive at Forster. A new 80 metre section of boardwalk will provide an over-water experience heading east towards the Red Spot boat shed. Some preliminary activity will start on Monday 9 […]

6 March 2026

Tagged blog, comment

Economist warns rural NSW shires are on the verge of financial ruin

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Comment

3 min
1

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-24/rural-nsw-councils-warn-of-financial-sustainability-crisis/106358104 This article describes a systemic crisis where rural councils, hamstrung by low rate revenue and rising costs for essential community services, are being pushed towards a financial cliff by an inadequate funding model. Many councils find themselves in similar, but less […]

5 March 2026

Tagged blog, comment, media

Arts & Cultural Industries Reference Group update

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Comment

MEC

1 min
1
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I’m a member of this group and we’d like your feedback on our Cultural Plan and shaping the future of the Manning Entertainment Centre. Cultural Plan link https://haveyoursay.midcoast.nsw.gov.au/check-midcoast-cultural-plan-2036 MidCoast Council is inviting the community to a public meeting at the Manning Entertainment […]

27 February 2026

Tagged blog, comment, MEC

Check if you’re in a 10/50 area

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Comment

1 min

https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/plan-and-prepare/1050-vegetation-clearing/tool Use the link to check if your property is in a 10/50 area and then go to https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/plan-and-prepare/1050-vegetation-clearing for more info on the regulation and some changes that have been made to the Code of Practice. Being in a 10/50 area […]

27 February 2026

Tagged blog, comment

Some of my questions for the Feb 25 meeting

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meeting

questions to meeting

6 min

I’m compiling my questions in preparation for the upcoming Council meeting. Here are the questions dealing with the first few items on the Agenda. 13.1 Matters Outstanding Questions Sustainable Development Public Spaces 14.1 DA2025/0699 115 Amaroo Drive, Smiths Lake Sustainable Development 14.2 […]

23 February 2026

Tagged blog, meeting, questions to meeting

The Budget Sessions

1 min

Last week, Feb 11, Councillors were updated on Asset Future Funding and the IP&R (Integrated Planning & Reporting) program schedule and were given a Capital Project Reporting Update ie., the method of reporting. Today we will be presented with a Draft Statement […]

18 February 2026

Tagged blog, budget, comment, rates

Eye on Shoalhaven Council

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Shoalhaven Council

2 min

I recommend reading some of Steve Prothero’s posts on Substack at https://steveprothero.substack.com/ Steve posts regularly and has an excellent understanding of how local councils work. He asks the important questions and remains up-to-date on his local council’s decisions and decision makers. Shoalhaven […]

16 February 2026

Tagged blog, Shoalhaven Council

Rates question answered

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1 min

I was asked, ‘Does every property in the LGA, of the same type, pay the same rates?’ The short answer is NO. The longer, more in-depth answer is at https://philbeazley.com/does-every-property-in-the-lga-of-the-same-type-pay-the-same-rates/

9 February 2026

Answers Menu added

Answers

1 min

I get asked a lot of questions. If I don’t know the answer I’ll try to find out, and if it’s something that the community might be interested in, I’ll post it there. I might also post a question without an answer […]

8 February 2026

Tagged Answers

Questions taken on Notice

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meeting

My questions

3 min
2

Not all of my questions to management were answered on the floor at the 4th of February meeting. I am awaiting responses to the questions below. Questions to the Acting Director of Corporate Services. Questions for the Director of Infrastructure and Engineering […]

6 February 2026

Tagged blog, meeting, My questions

Council meeting video available

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Comment

meeting

1 min

The video of the council meeting of the 4th of February is available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/YM4qg0mWKac I wasn’t expecting it to be available until the upgrade of the Council computer system slated for March 31. The new Code of Meeting Practice […]

6 February 2026

Tagged blog, comment, meeting