What are we proposing?

We are proposing to create a new Heritage Conservation Area (HCA) in Naremburn, located between the two existing Heritage Conservation Areas (C8 and C9) and would like your feedback on the proposal.

Conservation Areas have specific planning and heritage controls that aim to protect the area's historic character while guiding how it changes in future. See below for more details on the heritage controls.

Make a submission during the Public Exhibition period - from 13 November 2026 to 19 January 2027.

Protecting the heritage of the area

Naremburn is one of the earliest settled parts of the Willoughby local government area.

It was first developed in the mid-19th century and was originally known as Central Township. It was expected to become the commercial centre of the North Shore.

Most of the area was subdivided between 1899 and 1920. The area's historic and social significance comes from its wide streets, regular lots, and modest early homes and shops. Today the area is still mainly low-scale residential, with Federation cottages, some weatherboard cottages and interwar flats.

Council wants to ensure that this area can accommodate moderate change while preserving its historical elements, and create a welcoming streetscape.

The area is predominantly residential in character, with a grouping of commercial and community buildings concentrated around Willoughby Road to the eastern side of study area. The original street pattern, lot sizes and street names are largely intact in the Naremburn Heritage Conservation Area (C8) and the Naremburn Central Township Heritage Conservation Area (C9) apart from the eastern side, where the Gore Hill Freeway has cut through the suburb.

Conservation areas C8 and C9 were adopted in recent years to protect these original settlement patterns. The proposed new Naremburn Heritage Conservation area would extend the Conservation Area and further protect the heritage character of the area as well as add several notable buildings to the heritage register.

HCA map

Image showing the proposed area of the new Heritage Conservation Area (HCA) and the two established Conservation Areas - C8 and C9.

What the heritage controls aim to do

In the residential areas (R2 zone):

  • Manage change to be sympathetic to the values of the conservation heritage area
  • Keep the existing streetscape and the buildings that contribute to the area's character.
  • Make sure additions and new buildings respect the scale, form and modest character of their surroundings.
  • Stop car parking structures from dominating the street.
  • Keep homes low-scale, generally one storey with a second storey in the roof, and two-storey flats only where they already exist.
  • Set floor space ratios that vary with lot size, from 0.45:1 to 0.65:1.

Along Willoughby Road (E1 Local Centre):

  • Keep the fine-grain shopfronts and heritage buildings, and maintain active street frontages.
  • Allow building heights of 4 or 6 storeys, with upper-level setbacks to protect the streetscape and nearby heritage items.
  • Create new public space, including an opportunity for a public plaza and through-site arcade links.
  • Provide public car parking and service access at the rear of properties, and remove parking in front of shops.
  • Encourage green roofs, rooftop gardens and deep soil areas for mature trees.
  • Provide an opportunity for a small supermarket with basement parking.

How to get involved

  • Community drop-in session

    Details below

  • Fill in the online form below

    Form is open from 13 November 2026 to 19 January 2027

  • Send us an email

    Email@willoughby.nsw.gov.au

    Attn: Daniel Meadth, Senior Strategic Planner

  • Post a letter

    Write to Willoughby City Council, PO Box 57, Chatswood 2067

    Attn: Daniel Meadth, Senior Strategic Planner

Community drop-in session

Come along to speak with a council planner and Heritage expert and find out more about the proposal.

  • Date: Wednesday 18 November 2026
  • Time: 2-3pm
  • Location: Naremburn Community Centre, 7 Central Street, Naremburn, NSW

To attend, please rsvp by 17 November 2026 by emailing Daniel.Meadth@Willoughby.nsw.gov.au

Project Stages

  • Timeline item 1 - active

    Public Exhibition

    This engagement is open from 13 November 2026 to 19 January 2027

  • Timeline item 2 - incomplete

    Under review

    All submissions will be reviewed, and engagement outcomes reported in a Council Paper.

  • Timeline item 3 - incomplete

    Council report

    The engagement outcomes will be reported to Council in early 2027

Once all submissions are received and reviewed, a report will be submitted to Council in early 2027 which will determine whether to proceed with the proposed changes. Any adopted changes will be incorporated into the Willoughby DCP.

Willoughby City Council takes the privacy of the participants engaging online very seriously. By making a comment or submission, you are consenting to that information being used or reproduced anonymously in Council's strategic documents and reports. All personal details and identifiers will be redacted. For further information regarding your privacy and how we will use your information, please refer to Council's Privacy Management Plan.

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