The NSW Government has released its Draft Community Participation Plan (CPP) – and buried inside it is a huge change that would hit Vincentia and the Shoalhaven hard.
They want to remove neighbour notification for most new residential DAs.
That means:
- No letter in the mailbox
- No chance to comment
- No way to see the plans
- No warning until the trucks roll in and construction starts.
This would apply to developments the NSW Government calls ‘low impact’ – a term they never define. And the list is not just minor development.
What would no longer require neighbour notification?
According to Table 6 in the plan, it includes:
- New single houses
- Dual occupancies
- Residential flats
- Shop-top housing
- Group homes
- Alterations and additions
- New pools, sheds, and even tree removal.
If Council decides a DA ‘meets all planning controls’, the community gets no say at all. This isn’t ‘streamlining’. This is removing the community from the planning process.
Why this matters for Vincentia
We live in a coastal town with sensitive streetscapes, and long-established neighbourhood character. A ‘low-impact’ development in Sydney can be very high-impact here.
Losing neighbour notification means losing the only mechanism residents have to:
- protect winter sunlight
- maintain privacy
- prevent overlooking
- preserve trees
- stop overdevelopment
- keep neighbourhood character intact.
The CPP is now on exhibition
You can read it here (Table 6 is on page 25) Statewide Community Participation Plan and Have your say Here
The survey is written in planning jargon and geared toward industry—so if you want your concerns heard, a written submission is far more effective.
Neighbour notification has protected communities for decades. Removing it hands developers more freedom and leaves residents in the dark.
Make a submission. Tell the NSW Government to keep neighbour notification.
Submissions close 5pm, Wednesday 3 June 2026.