Excavation in Lake Munmorah
On the Pacific Highway release area in Lake Munmorah covered by chapter 5.54 of Council's development control plan, subdivision design has to consider the findings of the 2019 Phase 1 contamination investigation and 2021 preliminary site investigation the chapter names, and development is assessed with historic and current land use in mind. A dig on those lots starts with what the ground has been used for.
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Excavation around Lake Munmorah
The chapter also requires groundwater recharge, and the flows discharging into the wetland, to match their levels before development, measured by monitoring in high and low flow periods. For someone building on one of these lots, the lot's own development consent and any conditions attached to it are the documents to read before soil is dug or taken away.
Parts of Lake Munmorah lie inside the Swansea North Entrance mine subsidence district, where lots carry a mix of Subsidence Advisory NSW guidelines. Guideline 3, the more common here, allows a single-level basement; Guideline 2 prohibits basements, stepped slabs and retaining walls that support the house; and a handful of lots carry Guideline 7, which only Subsidence Advisory NSW can assess.
Permits and Central Coast Council rules
Neighbouring lots in a district can carry different guidelines, so check the one for your lot before a basement or a split-level cut is drawn. The suburb also has mapped flood planning land from Council's Northern Lakes floodplain plan, adopted in October 2022, and in flood planning precinct 2 filling needs a report from a suitably qualified engineer, approved by Council. Council's usual depth limits for a house assessed by development application apply here too, starting with a cut of no more than 1 metre within a metre of a boundary.
Source: Central Coast DCP 2022 Chapter 5.54 (Lake Munmorah release area), 5.54.2.9; Subsidence Advisory NSW, Surface Development Guidelines 2, 3 and 7; DCP Chapters 3.1 Part B and 2.1 — confirm current requirements with Central Coast Council.
Our Lake Munmorah service area
A Lake Munmorah enquiry is passed on to an independent provider, who contacts you to see the block.
See all Excavation on the Central Coast. We also work in Blue Haven to the south-west and Gwandalan to the north.
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