How to tell if you can do what you want on your site

There are many different sites on the market and all have their advantages and disadvantages. One way to start assessing the feasibility of a site is to use the websites below to gather as much information as possible about a site. This includes information about site slope, boundaries, zoning, permitted uses, previous development applications and sale prices.

1. Go to Dial Before You Dig, register an account and make an enquiry on the address. The main thing that you want to check is the location of the sewer, you don't want to see that sewer going through the middle of the site, you want it somewhere in a side or rear setback so that you can build away from it and don't have to divert or encase it that can add expense.

2. Use the land valuers website to get site area and dimensions, using this guide here. This will give you an accurate site area.

3. Use sixmaps to reassess the site area, check the contours, boundaries and get a scaled map of the site. Use the advanced search for the best results - the normal search option often misinterprets street names. Here is a link to sixmaps: https://maps.six.nsw.gov.au/

4. When looking at the site contours, try and find a site that slopes down to the street so that you do not have to purchase a stormwater easement from neighbouring properties behind the site.

5. Check the site width, check that it is the minimum that you need for a dual occupancy (15m) or if you are considering apartments remember that you will need a 6m setback on each side up to 12m in height then it goes up to 9m. Most standard lots do not have enough site width to comply with the Apartment Design guide - you normally need two next to each other to build apartments.

6. Check if your site is flood or bushfire prone, check for heritage overlays, zoning, acid sulphate soils, minimum lot size and also maximum height and FSR.

7. Check if there has been a previous DA lodged on the site. Type in "Development Application Tracker" and "name of the council" into google. This will give you a good idea of previous owners intentions towards the site and how successful they were. It is often also a good idea to check nearby properties that have had a similar development. This will allow you to look at what kind of consultants and reports council will require.

8. Use the appropriate legislation to check what you can do: Complying Development SEPP (CDC)(Housing Code Part 3 for houses or Low Rise Housing Code 3B for duplexes and townhouses) or Central Coast LEP and Central Coast DCP DCP. The key things that you want to find are, is it permitted in the zoning, site setbacks, both CDC and DCP, maximum GFA for the site, landscaping and private outdoor area requirements. For apartment buildings you'll also need to look at solar access and natural ventilation and the other requirements of the Apartment Design Guide Code (ADG).

9. Check the sales history of the site using https://www.onthehouse.com.au/

When you have found a site that you think will work it is a good idea to get a local architect and town planner to do a feasibility on it. This is so they can use their knowledge of local councils to advise you. The key here is to use local consultants because they will give you the best advice possible.