Excavation in Woongarrah
On the LEP's urban release area map, part of Woongarrah is the Warnervale Town Centre area, and the development control plan for it limits earthworks closely: embankments no steeper than 1 in 3, and cut and fill higher than 1 metre only under extraordinary circumstances, with a geotechnical engineer certifying the slope and what retains it.
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Excavation around Woongarrah
The plan, first made by the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure in 2012 and now chapter 4.1 of Council's development control plan, aims to minimise cut and fill so that subsoil and natural drainage are disturbed as little as possible. It asks for a geotechnical assessment with a development application on the land it maps for one, and a preliminary contamination investigation on the land it maps for that, so the chapter's own figures are where to check a Woongarrah lot.
Much of Woongarrah is also inside the Swansea North Entrance mine subsidence district, and most of its lots there carry Subsidence Advisory NSW's Guideline 3A. That guideline covers land above past longwall mining, and on those lots a basement, partial basement, stepped slab or retaining wall that holds up the house isn't permitted, though pools and retaining walls that don't support a structure are.
Permits and Central Coast Council rules
Where a cut or fill in the town centre area is proposed to exceed a metre, the plan also wants every detail of the lot reshaping shown on engineering plans. Low land along Porters Creek carries Council's flood planning mapping, where filling in flood planning precinct 2 needs a report from a suitably qualified engineer, approved by Council. Subsidence guidelines can differ between neighbouring lots, so check your own before the design is drawn.
Source: Central Coast DCP 2022 Chapter 4.1 (Warnervale Town Centre), s 6.6; Subsidence Advisory NSW, Surface Development Guideline 3A; DCP Chapter 3.1 Part B — confirm current requirements with Central Coast Council.
Our Woongarrah service area
From Woongarrah, enquiries go on to an independent provider, who contacts you to see the ground.
See all Excavation on the Central Coast. We also work in Hamlyn Terrace, next door, and Blue Haven to the north-east.
Call (02) 4326 8289Last reviewed · Updated · First published