GIPA Documents
GIPA stands for the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009. This NSW law gives members of the public a right to access most information held by government agencies, unless there is an overriding public interest against releasing it. Information obtained through GIPA can include correspondence, meeting notes, reports, plans and other records held by government departments, councils and public authorities.
Save Link Road Forest has made GIPA applications to better understand what information has been provided, discussed and considered in relation to the Eden Estates rezoning proposal and the future of Link Road Forest. We are publishing these documents so the community can examine the source material, follow the planning process and ask informed questions. Access to this information supports transparent and accountable decision-making about Newcastle’s future and helps ensure that important choices are subject to public scrutiny.
Many of the technical reports below were prepared for Eden Estates and were later obtained from government agencies that held copies. Publication on this page does not mean that Save Link Road Forest or the agency that released a document accepts its information, assumptions or conclusions. The descriptions below explain what each document contains; readers should consult the original documents for the full details.
Some records contain redactions made by the releasing agency. Some documents also appear in more than one collection because copies were held or released by different agencies.
NSW Environment Protection Authority GIPA documents
The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is the state’s environmental regulator. These records relate primarily to potential land-use conflicts between the proposed Eden Estates development and the Summerhill Waste Management Centre, as well as contamination, hazardous ground gas, water quality, odour and noise.
Some of the documents were prepared by the EPA, while others were created by the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure or consultants working for Eden Estates and were held by the EPA. Their release under GIPA does not mean that the EPA prepared, endorsed or independently verified every statement in them.
EPA response to Lake Macquarie City Council - 24 February 2025
Read or download the EPA response to the Eden Estates Scoping Proposal
This letter provides the EPA’s formal response to Lake Macquarie City Council about the part of the proposal within its local government area. It discusses contaminated land and water quality and refers to the EPA’s separate advice that a Detailed Site Investigation should be completed for land within 1,000 metres of the Summerhill Waste Management Centre before the relevant planning Gateway stage. It also recommends further investigation of identified former mining areas and a long-term strategy for managing surface water and groundwater.
EPA1375: records released in August 2026
EPA1375 concerned records about the proposed Eden Estates rezoning created between 1 July 2025 and 16 July 2026. The EPA’s decision identified eight relevant records and granted full access to them, apart from personal and other information considered irrelevant to the request.
Some document numbers are absent from the release because the EPA removed duplicate and out-of-scope records without renumbering the remaining documents.
Document 01 - Summerhill Waste Facility buffers over the concept plan
Read or download Document 01: Waste Facility Buffer over Concept Plan
This map places 500-metre and 1,000-metre buffers around the Summerhill Waste Management Centre over the proposed development area. It allows readers to see which parts of the proposal are shown within each distance. Later meeting records note that the 1,000-metre boundary shown on this map did not align with the boundary in the hazardous ground-gas sampling plan and that the mapping needed to be checked for consistency.
Document 02 - Draft development concept plan
This draft plan, dated 27 August 2025, shows the proposed arrangement of residential areas, local shops and community facilities, schools, employment or innovation land, roads, open space, drainage and conservation areas. It is marked “Draft for Discussion” and represents the proponent’s proposed layout rather than an approved rezoning or development plan.
Document 05 - Site Auditor advice and hazardous ground-gas sampling plan
Read or download Document 05: Site Auditor Advice and Ground Gas Sampling Plan
This file contains a 19 September 2025 letter from an EPA-accredited Site Auditor and the full Douglas Partners hazardous ground-gas Sampling, Analysis and Quality Plan dated 4 September 2025. The plan sets out proposed monitoring intended to investigate whether gas could migrate from the Summerhill Waste Management Centre towards the proposed residential area. The Site Auditor considered the sampling plan consistent with EPA guidelines but expressly stated that the advice was not a Site Audit Report or Site Audit Statement. This document approves an investigation method; it does not contain the results of that investigation or conclude that the land is suitable for development.
Document 06 - Site Auditor advice and targeted contamination sampling plan
Read or download Document 06: Site Auditor Advice and Targeted Contamination Sampling Plan
This file contains a 19 September 2025 letter from an EPA-accredited Site Auditor and a Douglas Partners Sampling and Analysis Quality Plan for targeted contamination testing dated 17 September 2025. The plan proposes soil, groundwater and surface-water testing in areas identified through earlier investigations, including former colliery and mining-related areas. The Site Auditor considered the proposed plan consistent with EPA guidelines but stated that the advice was not a Site Audit Report or Site Audit Statement. The document sets out how future testing should be conducted; it does not provide the test results or establish that the site is free from contamination.
Document 07a - Agenda for the EPA and DPHI meeting
This is the agenda for a meeting held between the EPA and the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure on 20 October 2025. The planned discussion covered the state-led rezoning process, the proposed development footprint, ground-gas investigations, the buffer around the Summerhill Waste Management Centre, groundwater, odour, noise, possible land uses within the buffer and any issues that could affect the rezoning process.
Document 08 - Correspondence between DPHI and the EPA
This email chain records communication between the EPA and the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure during October 2025. It includes DPHI’s request to meet with the EPA about the state-led rezoning, circulation of the agenda and supporting studies, and the exchange and revision of draft meeting minutes. It shows that DPHI was seeking to understand and address the EPA’s earlier comments as the proposal moved into the state-led rezoning process.
Document 08a - DPHI meeting record and action list
This is DPHI’s detailed record of the 20 October 2025 meeting with the EPA. It records discussion about the 1,000-metre landfill buffer, ground gas, contamination, groundwater, noise, odour and the need to consider current and approved future operations at Summerhill. It states that sampling plans had been prepared and reviewed, but sampling had not yet commenced. The actions recorded for DPHI included confirming the timing of ground-gas testing, correcting inconsistent buffer maps, commencing worst-case odour and noise studies and assessing the suitability of proposed employment uses within buffer areas.
Document 09 - EPA meeting notes
These are the EPA’s notes from the same meeting with DPHI on 20 October 2025. They record that only a sampling plan for ground gas had been prepared at that time and that no ground-gas assessment had yet been completed. The EPA explained that the 1,000-metre buffer was intended to allow risks including gas, noise and odour to be properly investigated, and that assessment should consider worst-case conditions and approved future activities at Summerhill. The notes also record the EPA’s concern that two documents mapped the 1,000-metre buffer differently and its advice that the mapping should be made consistent.
Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure GIPA documents
The NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) is responsible for assessing the proposed state-led rezoning of the Eden Estates land. Some older records use previous names for the Department, including the Department of Planning and Environment.
These documents were released in response to GIPA application GIPA-26-3963. They include DPHI’s records from the process used to select the proposal for state-led assessment, advice from government agencies and councils, and technical and planning reports supplied by or on behalf of Eden Estates.
The release of a document under GIPA does not mean that DPHI prepared, accepted or independently verified everything within it. In particular, many of the technical reports state the findings, proposals or opinions of consultants engaged by the proponent. The original numbering from the GIPA release has been retained below.
Document 01 - State Significant Rezoning candidate profile
Read or download Document 01: State Significant Rezoning Candidate Profile
This DPHI document summarises the proposal as it stood when it was being considered for the State Significant Rezoning program. It records the proposed site, land uses and estimated housing yield, as well as strategic planning considerations, council positions and matters requiring further investigation. It was prepared to help determine the appropriate assessment pathway and is not a rezoning approval.
Document 02 - Presentation to the State Significant Rezoning Evaluation Panel
This presentation briefed the State Significant Rezoning Evaluation Panel on the Eden Estates proposal and other rezoning candidates considered at its January 2025 meeting. The Eden Estates section outlines the proposed housing, employment, affordable housing and key-worker housing components, the stated regional benefits, and matters including biodiversity, contamination, infrastructure and the positions of the relevant councils.
Document 03 - State Significant Rezoning Evaluation Panel comments
This record summarises the Evaluation Panel’s comments on the proposal, including its consideration of public benefit, housing and employment outcomes, delivery issues, biodiversity, contamination and proposed investment. It records the Panel’s recommendation that the proposal proceed through a state-led rezoning process. That recommendation concerned the assessment pathway and did not constitute final approval of the proposed rezoning.
Document 04 - Evaluation Panel scoring outcome
Read or download Document 04: Evaluation Panel Scoring Outcome
This document shows the criteria, weightings and scores used by the Evaluation Panel to assess the proposal for entry into the State Significant Rezoning program. It records a total weighted score of 8.1 out of 10 and recommends a state-led assessment pathway. It is an administrative comparison and pathway-selection tool rather than a final merits assessment or development approval.
Document 05 - Evaluation Panel outcomes report
Read or download Document 05: Evaluation Panel Outcomes Report
This report records the outcome of the Evaluation Panel meeting held on 15 January 2025. It states that the proposal was endorsed for a state-led rezoning process and that this assessment pathway was approved by the Secretary of DPHI on 3 March 2025. Selection for state-led assessment means that DPHI will assess the rezoning proposal; it does not mean that the land has been rezoned or that the proposed development has been approved.
Document 06 - Biodiversity advice from DCCEEW
This letter, dated 14 March 2025, provides pre-lodgement biodiversity advice from the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water following its review of the December 2024 Biodiversity Certification Assessment Report. It identifies matters requiring further consideration, including avoidance of areas with higher environmental value, threatened plants and animals, ecological communities, habitat corridors, riparian areas, survey work and possible arrangements for conserving land.
Document 07 - Lake Macquarie City Council requirements and pre-lodgement summary
Read or download Document 07: Lake Macquarie City Council Pre-lodgement Advice
This file contains Lake Macquarie City Council’s April 2025 pre-lodgement response concerning the part of the proposal within its local government area. It discusses the proposal’s strategic and site-specific planning merit and matters such as biodiversity, contamination, infrastructure, housing yield and the division of the site between two council areas. The Council states that this preliminary advice is not a full assessment of the proposal.
Document 08 - City of Newcastle pre-lodgement letter
Read or download Document 08: City of Newcastle Pre-lodgement Letter
This letter, dated 18 March 2025, records the City of Newcastle’s preliminary response to the scoping proposal and supporting studies. It identifies information and issues that the City considered would require further attention, including biodiversity, affordable housing, the proposed scale of commercial development, the Summerhill Waste Management Centre, contamination, transport, flooding and water management. It also recommends that separate planning proposals be prepared for the parts of the site within each local government area.
Document 09 - Draft Social Impact Assessment
Read or download Document 09: Draft Social Impact Assessment
This draft report was prepared by ATX Consulting for the proposal and is dated 30 August 2025. It considers possible social effects of the proposed development, including potential benefits, impacts on existing and future communities, and measures proposed to manage those impacts. As a draft consultant report, it should not be read as a final DPHI assessment or finding.
Document 10 - Geotechnical investigation plan
Read or download Document 10: Geotechnical Investigation Plan
This August 2025 Douglas Partners report sets out proposed geotechnical investigations for different parts of the site. It identifies matters to be investigated, including areas of deep fill, former mine workings, possible mine openings and subsidence risks, and describes proposed boreholes, test pits and other fieldwork. It is an investigation plan rather than the results of completed investigations.
Document 11 - Flood Impact Risk Assessment and Integrated Water Cycle Management Plan
This ADW Johnson report examines flooding and water management for the proposed development. It discusses existing waterways and drainage, potential local and regional flood behaviour, stormwater detention, water quality, water-sensitive urban design and water-conservation measures. Its modelling and proposed management measures were prepared in support of the proposal and remain subject to government assessment.
Document 12 - Biodiversity assessment development-footprint versions table
Read or download Document 12: Development-footprint Versions Table
This consultant-prepared table compares seven versions of the proposed development footprint used during preparation of the biodiversity assessment. It shows how the calculated areas of vegetation communities, species records and habitat affected by the different footprints changed over time. The figures are those reported by the consultant and are not an independent government verification.
Document 13 - Ecology map
This map shows the proposed development footprint alongside mapped ecological features. These include proposed conservation and riparian areas, Lower Hunter Spotted Gum-Ironbark Forest, recorded threatened plants, Powerful Owl habitat and buffers, a koala record, and existing utilities or easements.
Document 14 - Koala analysis
This August 2025 report by Anderson Environment & Planning summarises koala surveys undertaken for the proposal since 2020. These included acoustic monitoring, spotlighting, scat searches, detection-dog surveys and thermal-drone work. It discusses the consultant’s interpretation of koala detections recorded during 2025, together with habitat, possible movement routes and other local records.
Document 15 - Biodiversity assessment development-footprint maps
This document contains seven maps showing how the development footprint used for the biodiversity assessment changed between 2020 and 2025. The maps also show the study area, nearby approved development and the Summerhill Waste Management Centre. They are consultant-prepared planning maps and should be read with the limitations and qualifications stated on them.
Document 16 - Avoid and Minimise Report
This August 2025 ADW Johnson report explains how the proponent says the development footprint was changed to avoid or reduce biodiversity impacts while retaining land for proposed housing, employment and infrastructure. It describes changes to the proposed development and conservation areas and presents the proponent’s reasoning for the resulting design. The two versions contain the same record in different formats.
Document 17 - Biodiversity Certification Assessment Report
Read or download Document 17: Biodiversity Certification Assessment Report
This December 2024 consultant report documents biodiversity surveys and values identified for the site, the anticipated effects of the proposed development footprint, proposed avoidance and mitigation measures, calculated biodiversity-credit obligations and possible conservation arrangements. It was prepared in support of the proposal and does not itself grant biodiversity certification or indicate that the government has accepted its conclusions.
Flora species list from the biodiversity report
Read or download the Link Road Forest BCAR Flora Species List
This is a separate reference list of plant species recorded or reported in the Biodiversity Certification Assessment Report. It provides a quicker way to review the species information but should be read with the full report, which contains the relevant survey methods, locations, qualifications and assessment context.
Document 18 - Planning Proposal engineering report
Read or download Document 18: Planning Proposal Engineering Report
This ADW Johnson report outlines preliminary engineering and servicing considerations for the proposal. It discusses the site’s topography and former mining areas, proposed bulk earthworks, water and wastewater servicing, electricity, telecommunications and other infrastructure. It presents preliminary servicing principles rather than approved construction designs.
Document 19 - Link Road Structure Plan Design Statement
Read or download Document 19: Structure Plan Design Statement
This November 2023 Urbanco document explains the proponent’s urban-design approach for the Link Road Structure Plan. It describes proposed neighbourhood centres, housing, transport and active-transport connections, community facilities and conservation areas, and explains how the structure plan had changed in response to earlier feedback. It is a design proposal and not an approved statutory plan.
Document 20 - Aboriginal Heritage Study
This December 2020 study by Kelleher Nightingale Consulting addresses Aboriginal cultural heritage in relation to the proposed rezoning area. It records the study’s research, consultation, fieldwork and assessment of Aboriginal heritage values and potential effects. Its detailed methodology, findings and recommendations should be read directly from the report.
Document 21 - Structure Plan, Part B
This is the illustrated structure-plan component of the proposal. It uses plans and diagrams to show the proposed arrangement of land uses, residential areas, neighbourhood centres, roads, open space, infrastructure and conservation areas. It represents the proponent’s proposed layout and is not an approved rezoning or development plan.
Document 22 - Contamination documents
This file contains preliminary contamination material, including a December 2020 Ramboll Preliminary Site Investigation concerning the former New Wallsend Colliery site. The material reviews the site’s history, earlier investigations and possible contamination sources, pathways and information gaps, and identifies areas where further investigation may be required. A preliminary investigation is not the same as a detailed site investigation or confirmation that land is suitable for a particular use.
Document 23 - Geotechnical summary of investigations
Read or download Document 23: Geotechnical Summary of Investigations
This December 2020 Douglas Partners report summarises the geotechnical and mining information then available for the site. It discusses matters including areas of deep or uncontrolled fill, former mine workings, mine openings, subsidence and possible approaches to managing these constraints. The report notes that only limited subsurface investigation had been undertaken at that stage.
Document 24 - Environmental and Social Sustainability Strategy
Read or download Document 24: Environmental and Social Sustainability Strategy
This October 2022 Eden Estates strategy sets out the proponent’s environmental, social, economic and governance objectives for the proposed development. Topics include biodiversity, urban heat, waste and resource use, energy, water, housing affordability, health and wellbeing, community development, Connection to Country and education. The document presents proposed objectives and possible initiatives rather than binding or approved commitments.
Document 25 - December 2024 Scoping Proposal
This ADW Johnson document introduces and defines the proposal submitted on behalf of Eden Estates in December 2024. It describes the site and previous planning proposals, the proposed structure plan and land-use changes, the claimed strategic justification, and matters such as heritage, biodiversity, contamination, mining, flooding, transport, infrastructure and housing. It is the proponent’s submission explaining what it is seeking, rather than a government assessment or decision.
Document 26 - Eden Estates Strategic Vision
This September 2022 Realm Studios document presents the proponent’s early strategic and urban-design vision for the site. It considers the landscape, waterways, biodiversity, movement connections and a proposed Designing with Country approach before setting out planning principles and possible outcomes. It is a vision and concept document, not an approved plan.
Document 27 - Summerhill Waste Management Centre and EPA matters
Read or download Document 27: Summerhill Waste Management Centre and EPA Matters
This file is a compiled appendix containing correspondence and technical material about the relationship between the proposed development and the Summerhill Waste Management Centre. It includes a September 2024 letter in which Eden Estates agreed to withdraw the planning proposal then before the City of Newcastle while further assessment work was undertaken, as well as material about separation distances, landfill gas, contamination and proposed investigations. Because the file combines records from different authors and organisations, statements within it should be attributed to the particular document in which they appear.
City of Newcastle GIPA documents
These records were released by the City of Newcastle in response to two GIPA applications concerning the Eden Estates proposal and Link Road Forest. They include biodiversity reports and government advice held by the Council, correspondence about land identified as having High Environmental Value, and letters arising from the Council’s December 2025 resolution supporting permanent conservation of the land.
Some records were written by other government agencies or consultants rather than the City of Newcastle. Their release by the Council does not mean the Council prepared or independently verified every statement within them.
Formal GIPA 26-019: records released in December 2025
Document 01 - DCCEEW biodiversity advice
This letter, dated 14 March 2025, provides advice from the Conservation Programs, Heritage and Regulation group within the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. It responds to the December 2024 Biodiversity Certification Assessment Report and identifies matters requiring further work, including avoidance of High Environmental Value land, threatened species and ecological communities, habitat corridors, riparian areas, survey work and long-term conservation arrangements.
The advice recommends changes to reduce proposed impacts on species and habitat including Black-eyed Susan, Netted Bottlebrush, Powerful Owls, Squirrel Gliders, hollow-bearing trees and Lower Hunter Spotted Gum-Ironbark Forest. It also seeks clearer information about which land can properly be described as avoided or conserved and how that land would be protected and managed over time.
Document 02 - Biodiversity Certification Assessment Report
Read or download Document 02: Biodiversity Certification Assessment Report
This December 2024 report was prepared by Anderson Environment & Planning for Eden Estates. It documents the consultant’s biodiversity surveys and mapping, the biodiversity values reported across the site, the anticipated effects of the proposed development footprint, and proposed avoidance, mitigation, offset and conservation measures.
The report includes information about threatened plants, animals and ecological communities, proposed vegetation clearing, biodiversity credits and possible stewardship arrangements. It was prepared in support of the proposal and does not itself grant biodiversity certification or indicate that the government or either council has accepted its conclusions.
Document 03 - City of Newcastle request to investigate High Environmental Value land
Read or download Document 03: City of Newcastle Letter to DPHI and Attachments
This file contains an April 2025 letter from the City of Newcastle to the Secretary of DPHI, together with the relevant Council resolution, maps and earlier ecological advice. The letter asks DPHI to investigate whether land north of Link Road within the Eden Estates holding contains High Environmental Value land and, if that value is confirmed, to consider removing the affected land from the National Pinch Point Regionally Significant Growth Area in the Hunter Regional Plan 2041.
The attached Council resolution was carried on 25 February 2025. Other attachments include a map of the affected land and ecological advice prepared for Eden Estates by Anderson Environment & Planning in December 2020. That consultant advice summarises vegetation mapping and threatened-species survey work undertaken or underway at that time.
Document 04 - DPHI response about the Regionally Significant Growth Area
Read or download Document 04: DPHI Response to City of Newcastle
This letter, dated 11 June 2025, is DPHI’s response to the City of Newcastle’s request concerning High Environmental Value land north of Link Road. DPHI explains that inclusion within a regionally significant growth area identifies land for further investigation and does not mean that the land is necessarily suitable for development.
The letter states that any proposal would still require assessment of its strategic and site-specific merit. It also explains that councils had become responsible for investigating regionally significant growth areas through local planning processes and encourages the City of Newcastle to work with the landowner to identify areas of High Environmental Value for consideration in future regional planning.
Formal GIPA 26-101: records released in July 2026
The following correspondence arose from a resolution carried by the City of Newcastle on 16 December 2025. Through that resolution, the Council formally endorsed the campaign’s goal of having the NSW Government acquire the Link Road Forest land for permanent conservation as a national park or another suitable form of protected area.
The Council also resolved to seek discussions with NSW Government ministers and agencies and invite Lake Macquarie City Council to a joint planning workshop. A copy of the Council resolution is attached to each of the three outgoing letters below.
Document 74 - Letter to the NSW Minister for the Environment
Read or download Document 74: Letter to the Minister for the Environment
This letter, dated 19 January 2026, was sent by the City of Newcastle to the NSW Minister for the Environment, Penny Sharpe. It requests a joint meeting involving the relevant ministers and agencies, City of Newcastle representatives and representatives of the Link Road Forest Campaign to discuss possible NSW Government acquisition of the land for a national park.
The letter sets out the Council’s reasons for making the request, including mapped High Environmental Value land, biodiversity records, koala survey information, ecological connectivity and the level of community support recorded through the Council’s Local Strategic Planning Statement consultation. These are the Council’s stated position and reasons for supporting permanent conservation of the land.
Document 75 - Letter to the NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces
Read or download Document 75: Letter to the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces
This letter, also dated 19 January 2026, was sent to the NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Paul Scully. It asks for a joint meeting to discuss possible government acquisition and permanent conservation of the Eden Estates land while DPHI is undertaking its state-led rezoning assessment.
Like the letter to the Environment Minister, it outlines the Council’s position regarding the site’s ecological values, threatened species, koala habitat, regional biodiversity connections and community support for conservation. It also refers to the Council’s earlier request for thermal surveys to investigate koala presence and High Environmental Value land on the site.
Document 76 - Letter to the Mayor of Lake Macquarie
Read or download Document 76: Letter to the Mayor of Lake Macquarie
This letter, dated 19 January 2026, advises Lake Macquarie Mayor Adam Shultz that the City of Newcastle had endorsed the campaign’s conservation goal. It invites the elected representatives of both councils to participate in a joint planning workshop about possible NSW Government acquisition of the land for a national park.
The letter explains the City of Newcastle’s position on the site’s ecological values and regional connectivity and notes that the land extends across both local government areas. It includes the same December 2025 Council resolution attached to the ministerial letters.
Document 76.1 - Lake Macquarie City Council’s response
Read or download Document 76.1: Lake Macquarie City Council Response
This letter, dated 20 February 2026, is Lake Macquarie City Council’s response to the proposed joint workshop. Its Chief Executive Officer acknowledges the area’s ecological values and the level of community interest but declines to participate in a joint meeting or workshop at that stage.
The response states a preference for allowing the NSW Government’s state-led rezoning assessment to reach a conclusion before the councils consider further proposals. It says Lake Macquarie City Council remains open to further discussions with the City of Newcastle and other stakeholders once the outcome of that process is known.
Lake Macquarie City Council GIPA documents
These records were released by Lake Macquarie City Council in response to GIPA application GIPA/256/2025. The application sought records created between 1 August 2024 and 30 July 2025 concerning the proposed rezoning of 574 hectares at 144 Boundary Road, Wallsend, 35–35B Frederick Street, Glendale and 1 Glendon Crescent, Glendale.
Together, the documents record discussions about the planning pathway for the Eden Estates proposal, biodiversity matters raised by Council staff and the proposal’s later selection for assessment through the NSW Government’s State Significant Rezoning pathway. Some documents contain assessments or opinions from Council staff, the proponent, its consultants or another government agency. The descriptions below attribute those views to their authors.
Item 1 - Response to a councillor request about the Link Road Forest proposal, 28 October 2024
This email from Council’s Manager Integrated Planning responds to a request from Mayor Adam Shultz for information about the proposal. It explains that an earlier Gateway process ended after the required studies were not completed within the specified timeframe and DPHI altered the Gateway Determination to “not proceed”. The response states that, as at October 2024, no new planning proposal was before Council and explains the process that would apply if one was lodged. The released record also contains the campaign’s original invitation to the Mayor to attend a rally.
Item 2 - Council’s additional information to DPHI, 9 August 2024
Read or download: D11659435 Email to DPHI – Additional information – Eden Estates – RZ32020
This email provides Council staff comments for DPHI to consider when responding to Eden Estates’ request for the Planning Secretary to become the planning proposal authority. The Council planner refers to difficulties created by the site crossing two local government areas and says that Council staff considered further work was required on the proposed development and conservation footprint. The matters identified include watercourse mapping and buffers, hollow-bearing and habitat trees, threatened species and ecological communities, and connections between areas proposed for conservation.
Item 3 - Eden Estates’ response to biodiversity matters, 14 August 2024
This email forwards a response prepared for Eden Estates by ecological consultant Anderson Environment & Planning. The consultant outlines the survey methods used, including forest-owl surveys, and states that three active Powerful Owl nests were identified. It argues that the survey work met or exceeded relevant guidelines and that additional Serious and Irreversible Impact assessments were not required for species that were not listed as candidates under the referenced state database. These are the consultant’s assessments in response to issues previously raised by Council staff.
Item 4 - Advice to Eden Estates about a future planning proposal, 26 August 2024
Read or download: D11680877 Email to Eden Estates – Process for future planning proposal – RZ32020
This email and attached Council letter explain that the planning proposal lodged in 2020 had ended when DPHI altered its Gateway Determination to “not proceed” in 2022. Council advises Eden Estates that the existing developer agreement would be closed and that any future proposal would need to begin again under the current NSW LEP Making Guideline. This would include a pre-lodgement scoping process, preparation of the required studies and, if a proposal were formally lodged, a report to Council on whether it should proceed to Gateway.
Item 5 - Update to councillors on the status of planning proposals, 26 August 2024
Read or download: D11681044 Email to Councillors – update on status of planning proposals
This update discusses the Eden Estates proposal and another planning proposal, parts of which have been redacted. It explains that the earlier proposals did not progress because the necessary studies were not completed within their Gateway timeframes. It also explains that the current LEP Making Guideline requires detailed studies and a proposed development footprint to be prepared earlier in the process. Councillors were advised that a new planning proposal would therefore need to be prepared and submitted before Council could decide whether to seek another Gateway Determination.
Item 6 - DPHI correspondence about the planning proposal pathway, 2 September 2024
This is an email chain recording correspondence between DPHI and Council about which authority would manage the planning proposal process for the Eden Estates land. The September email from DPHI forwards correspondence concerning the planning proposal authority. The chain also includes Council’s earlier email sending a letter to the DPHI Secretary about the proposed planning pathway.
Item 7 - Internal Council biodiversity comments, 3 September 2024
Read or download: D11695938 Internal Referral Comments – Biodiversity – Eden Estates – RZ32020
This record contains an internal review by a Council environmental planner of the ecological consultant’s August response. The officer’s assessment was that previously requested information remained outstanding, particularly in relation to forest-owl surveys, koala information, hollow-bearing trees, watercourses and buffers, habitat connections, threatened species and ecological communities. The officer suggests several options for obtaining further or independent ecological advice. The record also contains a detailed comparison of the consultant’s response with Council’s information requests, along with legal and court materials concerning the avoidance, minimisation and offsetting of biodiversity impacts.
Item 8 - Councillor memo about the State-led rezoning proposal, 25 July 2025
This internal memo advises councillors that the NSW Government had announced that DPHI would assess the Eden Estates rezoning through a State-led process. It summarises the earlier planning proposal and Gateway history and notes DPHI’s description of a project that could provide up to 4,200 dwellings, including affordable housing, employment uses and community facilities. At that time, Council staff said they had limited information about the process and understood that Council would not have a formal decision-making role. The memo says staff would seek further information about how Council and the community could participate.
Item 9 - DPHI notification of the State Significant Rezoning outcome, 23 July 2025
Read or download: D12123872 DPHI – Eden Estates Proposal – State Significant Rezoning
This letter from the DPHI Secretary formally advises Lake Macquarie City Council that the Eden Estates proposal had been selected to progress as a State-led rezoning. It says the proposal was considered by DPHI’s State Significant Rezoning Evaluation Panel on 15 January 2025 and that the Panel found it to be of state significance and recommended that it proceed through this pathway. The letter says DPHI would work with Lake Macquarie City Council, the City of Newcastle and Eden Estates during the rezoning process. Selection for this assessment pathway was not, by itself, approval of the rezoning.
NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW)
This document records biodiversity advice provided by DCCEEW during the pre-lodgement stage of the Eden Estates planning proposal. It reflects the department’s assessment at the date of the document and is not a decision to approve or refuse the proposed rezoning.
DCCEEW comments on the Biodiversity Certification Assessment Report, 14 March 2025
This letter from DCCEEW’s Conservation Programs, Heritage and Regulation group to the City of Newcastle responds to a request for advice about the proposed rezoning of 144 Boundary Road, Wallsend. DCCEEW reviewed the December 2024 Biodiversity Certification Assessment Report and identified 19 areas requiring further information, assessment or changes. It acknowledged that the proposed development area had been reduced by approximately 66 hectares since its previous advice in 2022, reducing the proposed impacts on biodiversity, but said further avoidance of areas with high environmental value should be demonstrated. The matters raised include threatened plants and ecological communities, Powerful Owls, Squirrel Gliders, Glossy Black-Cockatoos, raptors, koalas, frogs, reptiles, microbats and Giant Dragonflies; hollow-bearing trees; watercourses and riparian buffers; habitat corridors; survey methods and missing data; indirect impacts; biodiversity offsets; and the proposed long-term protection and management of retained land. DCCEEW recommended that the report and associated mapping and data be updated, with additional surveys or information provided where required, before the planning proposal progressed.
Hunter Water
This document contains preliminary advice from Hunter Water about how the proposed development could connect to existing water and wastewater infrastructure. The advice was based on the proposal and network conditions known in December 2020 and was expressly described as preliminary and non-binding.
Preliminary water and sewer servicing advice, 15 December 2020
Read or download: Hunter Water Preliminary Servicing Advice – 15 December 2020
This letter was sent by Hunter Water to the Newcastle Wallsend Coal Company through ADW Johnson and is included as Appendix A of the December 2020 ADW Johnson Engineering Report. It provides broad information about possible water and sewer connections for the proposed residential development. Hunter Water advised that parts of the site could connect to existing infrastructure, while other areas would require upgrades, new trunk mains, pumping facilities or further investigation. It noted that land above approximately 60 metres in elevation would require a booster water pumping station and that existing capacity varied around the edges of the site. The letter said the Shortland and Edgeworth wastewater treatment works had capacity based on conditions at that time, but that connection arrangements and any network upgrades would need to be confirmed through detailed, developer-funded water and sewer servicing strategies. Hunter Water emphasised that the advice did not guarantee servicing or constitute approval and that formal requirements could change before any development proceeded.