Lane Cove Council
Private building certifier in Longueville
Water on three sides, yet no foreshore building line on the maps: that surprises many Longueville owners. CertifiBuild certifies houses, rebuilds, pools and bushland fences right across the peninsula.
NSW 2066
Class 1 homes and Class 10 structures
Local rules
Longueville: a peninsula of houses between two bays
Houses almost without exception
Longueville is a peninsula with Tambourine Bay on one side and Woodford Bay on the other, wholly in Lane Cove Council. Roughly 99% of occupied homes are stand-alone houses, mostly on sloping blocks. About 80% of the land is R2. Buildings may rise to 9.5 metres, and new lots need 550 square metres or more. About 11% is environmental conservation land, a larger share than any other Lane Cove peninsula suburb holds.
Heritage, but local only
The Lane Cove Local Environmental Plan 2009 lists 49 heritage items here, though the maps show no conservation area. All are of local rather than State significance. The listings range from the Kingsford Smith Oval clubhouse to the archaeological site of Kirk's soap and candle factory.
Water without a foreshore line
Council has not drawn a foreshore building line on any Longueville lot, which leaves the local foreshore clause with nothing to do. Waterfront work is still judged on merit. A state harbour policy covers roughly 57% of the suburb as foreshore and waterway land, and around 11% is bushfire prone. Note that the DCP's Longueville Precinct actually covers part of Lane Cove suburb, not this peninsula.
Typical work
Common projects and how they get approved
What owners build here
Nearly every Longueville home is a stand-alone house, so owners mostly extend, rebuild or landscape. Frequent jobs include:
- Upper level and rear additions, kept to two storeys with generous landscaping.
- Knockdown rebuilds on generous sloping blocks, where council’s one metre dig limit pushes designs towards split levels.
- Pools, decks and terraced retaining walls on steep land overlooking the bays.
- Rear fences where a lot adjoins bushland, which must use colour blended wire or steel.
- Granny flats and dual occupancies where lots clear the 750 or 900 square metre thresholds.
How approval usually works
Longueville lacks a conservation area, a foreshore line and class 2 acid sulfate land, so most mapped exclusions from a CDC (a fast-track approval under state rules) simply do not bite here. The real filters are heritage and bushfire. Check whether your lot holds, or sits beside, one of the 49 listed items. Next, look at the bushfire map, since roughly one lot in ten is affected. If you end up needing a DA, test the plans early for the rear setback, the 35% landscaped area and the two storey cap. A detached dual occupancy cannot normally be split onto separate titles later. CertifiBuild checks the lot's heritage and bushfire layers first and fits inspections around your builder's timetable.
Our services
From approval to sign-off.
One certifier for your whole Longueville job, from the first plan check to the occupation certificate.
Local questions
Questions we hear about this suburb.
No two lots in Longueville are the same. Give us your address and we will check every map that affects it.
See the council pageMy Longueville house is on the water. Is there a foreshore line?
No. Although the bays wrap around three sides, council has not drawn a foreshore building line on any Longueville lot. As a result, the local foreshore clause has nothing to apply to, and the matching complying development certificate (CDC) exclusion does not bite either. Waterfront designs are still judged on their merits, and a state harbour policy treats roughly 57% of the suburb as foreshore and waterway land. If you plan a pool, deck or terrace by the bay, plan stormwater and site works with those harbour provisions in mind, and check the bushfire and heritage maps too.
What fence can I build against a bushland reserve?
Where your lot backs onto bushland, council’s Development Control Plan (DCP) asks for cyclone wire, steel or a similar open fence, coloured to blend with the bush. A white fence is not allowed. Away from the reserve, a solid front fence can reach 900 millimetres and a side fence behind the house 1.8 metres. Roughly 11% of Longueville is bushfire prone, so check whether that mapping also affects the fencing material. If your lot includes or adjoins one of the 49 listed heritage items, confirm the fence suits that setting before ordering.
Does the DCP’s Longueville Precinct cover my street?
Almost certainly not, if you live on the peninsula. Despite its name, the DCP’s Longueville Precinct covers land along Longueville Road close to the Pacific Highway, land that belongs to the neighbouring suburb of Lane Cove. Its controls, and the nearby aged care height clause, have no role between Tambourine Bay and Woodford Bay. Peninsula homes instead follow the general residential controls, such as the two storey cap, a 35% landscaped area and rear setbacks. Confirm your suburb on a planning certificate before relying on any precinct map, so the design starts from the right rules.
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.