E5 Heavy Industrial zone in NSW

What the zone is for

Every council that uses E5 includes these objectives, word for word. They come from the Standard Instrument, the template all NSW council plans are built on:

• To provide areas for industries that need to be separated from other land uses.
• To ensure the efficient and viable use of land for industrial uses.
• To minimise any adverse effect of industry on other land uses.
• To encourage employment opportunities.

15 of the 26 LEPs add objectives of their own, so the full list for a property depends on its council.

Allowed in most councils (23)

Each number is a count of LEPs, not properties. No consent needed means the use itself doesn’t need a development application. With consent means it does. Can’t say is not a ban: either that council has no rule for the use, or it is a broad term whose types the table treats differently, so it depends on the type of project.

Councils differ (37)

These uses are allowed by some councils that use E5 and prohibited by others, so the answer depends on which council the land is in.

Prohibited in most councils (49)

Most of the LEPs that use E5 prohibit these, either by naming them or through the catch-all rule below.

Uses the table doesn’t name

Every council’s table ends with a rule for anything it hasn’t listed. 7 of the 26 LEPs prohibit any use their E5 table doesn’t name. The other 19 allow such uses with consent.

That is why a use can be counted as prohibited above in more councils than actually name it.

What the zone doesn’t tell you

• Lot size, height and floor space are set on the LEP maps for each property, so they vary within the same zone.
• Heritage, flood and bushfire mapping can limit what is possible on a lot even where the zone allows it.
• State policies can apply as well as the council’s table. Granny flats are dealt with under the Housing SEPP, and small works such as sheds can be exempt development under the Codes SEPP. See the NSW granny flat rules and NSW shed rules.

An address search shows all of this for one property.

Council LEPs that use E5 (26)

Some councils have more than one LEP, each covering part of the area.

• Bega Valley LEP 2013
• Cabonne LEP 2012
• Cessnock LEP 2011
• Coffs Harbour LEP 2013
• Cootamundra LEP 2013
• Dubbo Regional LEP 2022
• Gloucester LEP 2010
• Goulburn Mulwaree LEP 2009
• Great Lakes LEP 2014
• Greater Taree LEP 2010
• Griffith LEP 2014
• Gunnedah LEP 2012
• Lake Macquarie LEP 2014
• Lithgow LEP 2014
• Liverpool LEP 2008
• Mid-Western Regional LEP 2012
• Moree Plains LEP 2011
• Newcastle LEP 2012
• Parramatta LEP 2023
• Port Macquarie-Hastings LEP 2011
• Singleton LEP 2013
• Sutherland Shire LEP 2015
• Tamworth Regional LEP 2010
• Wingecarribee LEP 2010
• Wollondilly LEP 2011
• Wollongong LEP 2009

Land zoned under a State Environmental Planning Policy rather than a council LEP, such as some growth precincts, isn’t included in these counts.

Frequently asked questions