Campbelltown City Council
Private building certifier in Campbelltown
Campbelltown has one of the oldest town centres in Sydney, and its heritage rules reach beyond listed buildings. We help house owners work out what applies before they design an extension or granny flat.
NSW 2560
Class 1 homes and Class 10 structures
Local rules
Heritage and housing in Campbelltown
A town founded in 1820
Its founding goes back to 1820. A council heritage study describes four Queen Street buildings in the Georgian style, built around 1840 to 1845, as a rare group in NSW. The suburb holds six items on the state's heritage list. They include Dredges Cottage, the former CBC Bank, the post office, Glenalvon on Lithgow Street and the Warby's Barn and Stables site. The local list adds many more, such as the court house and the old town hall, plus the church group of St Peter's on Cordeaux Street.
The conservation area and beyond
A heritage conservation area also covers the south-east side of Queen Street. It stretches from Allman Street down to Bradbury Avenue. Campbelltown Local Environmental Plan 2015 lists the items. Council's development control plan lists three cases in which you must supply a heritage impact statement: an item sits on the land, a conservation area covers the land, or the land merely adjoins an item.
A different housing mix
The 2021 Census recorded 16,577 residents and 7,315 private dwellings. Of all homes, 51.1% were detached houses and 34.9% apartments. That apartment share comes mostly from the city centre. The surrounding residential streets are far more suburban, with houses from many decades.
Typical work
Common projects and how they get approved
What owners build here
House work in Campbelltown falls into a few groups:
- Homes near Queen Street. A conservation management plan, a report on what makes a place significant, may be needed before design.
- Additions and granny flats in residential streets. Houses here span many eras, so start with what is on site.
- Lots beside a heritage item. These trigger heritage checks more often than owners expect.
- Pools, decks and garages. Check excavation and drainage early.
How approval usually works
A CDC, a fast-track approval from a certifier, is often ruled out on heritage land. Those jobs usually need a DA to council and then a construction certificate. Heritage assessment follows the Burra Charter. It asks how the work affects the significance and setting of a place, not just whether it looks in keeping. A properly qualified person must do the design. Digging can also trigger an Aboriginal heritage due diligence check, and sometimes a separate permit. Local creeks such as Bow Bowing Creek feed the Georges River, so ask council for flood information for your lot. Send a planning certificate first. CertifiBuild then reads the heritage triggers with you and sets out the path.
Our services
From approval to sign-off.
One certifier for your whole Campbelltown job, from the first plan check to the occupation certificate.
Local questions
Questions we hear about this suburb.
No two lots in Campbelltown are the same. Give us your address and we will check every map that affects it.
See the council pageWhy does my unlisted Campbelltown home need a heritage statement?
Because Campbelltown’s development control plan (DCP) makes a heritage impact statement compulsory in three situations: a heritage item sits on the land, a conservation area covers it, or the land simply adjoins a listed item. That third trigger catches many ordinary homes. The town centre holds six State Heritage Register items, such as Dredges Cottage and Glenalvon, plus a long local list under Campbelltown Local Environmental Plan 2015. The conservation area along the south-east side of Queen Street, from Allman Street to Bradbury Avenue, adds more. A planning certificate shows which trigger, if any, applies to your lot.
Do I need extra approval to excavate for a pool in Campbelltown?
Possibly, yes. Digging in Campbelltown can trigger an Aboriginal heritage due diligence check, and that check may lead to a separate permit. This runs outside the council and certifier approvals, on its own timeline, so start it before the pool contract is signed. The pool itself also has to be approved, through a complying development certificate (CDC) or a development application (DA) lodged with council. Ask council about flood information too, since local creeks such as Bow Bowing Creek feed the Georges River. Plan excavation, drainage and the safety barrier together.
Can CertifiBuild certify work on an apartment building in Campbelltown?
No. Apartment buildings are Class 2 under the National Construction Code, and CertifiBuild is registered for Class 1 and Class 10 work only. A Campbelltown unit block, including work to its common property or individual apartments, has to go to a certifier who holds Class 2 registration. About 34.9% of Campbelltown homes are apartments, mostly in the city centre, so it pays to confirm the class before you call. We can help with detached houses, granny flats, garages, carports, pools, decks and sheds on the residential streets around the centre.
Building in this suburb?
Send us the address first.
We check the local maps for your lot, confirm the approval path and quote in writing.