Canterbury-Bankstown Council
Private building certifier in Picnic Point
Picnic Point sits beside the Georges River with mostly detached homes. We begin by reading every map over your lot, foreshore, flood and bushfire included, and only then is a design settled.
NSW 2213
Class 1 homes and Class 10 structures
Local rules
Building near the river at Picnic Point
Housing in the suburb
Picnic Point was home to 6,413 people at the 2021 Census, living in 2,233 dwellings. Three in four occupied homes, or 75.4 per cent, were stand-alone houses. Semis, terraces and townhouses were 24.0 per cent, and flats were rare at 0.3 per cent. Many lots have a noticeable fall towards the river, so ground levels and drainage matter from the start. A detailed survey showing contours is worth ordering before any design work.
Controls to check
Zoning and heights come from the Canterbury-Bankstown Local Environmental Plan 2023. Council's 2023 DCP has a residential chapter covering what used to be Bankstown council land. It contains extra rules on materials and landscaping for land that falls inside the mapped foreshore protection zone. Whether those rules apply depends on the map, not on how close you are to the water.
The river and the shops
Lambeth Reserve offers residents a riverside boardwalk, a wharf for fishing, play equipment and walking tracks. A public reserve beside the river cannot tell you if a private lot floods. A small group of shops on Kennedy Street has its own neighbourhood centre controls. Homes near those shops are judged against the residential rules that cover their own land.
Typical work
Common projects and how they get approved
What owners build here
Projects we often see in Picnic Point include:
- Extensions towards the garden. Sort out access and drainage as the floor plan takes shape, not later.
- New homes on sloping blocks. Think through stepped floors and retaining before you pick a standard design.
- Pools, decks and roofed outdoor spaces. Each one shifts the mix of built area, landscaping and open space.
- Garages. Check driveway grades and stormwater.
- Granny flats. A separate test of land eligibility, floor area and fit with the main house.
Attached homes, almost a quarter of the local stock, need party walls and title arrangements confirmed before any change. Under strata or community title, owners' consent may also be required.
How approval usually works
Some minor structures are exempt. An addition, pool or deck may be approved by CDC, a quicker certifier approval, when the full scope complies with the state codes. Flood mapping, bushfire prone land, foreshore controls or heavy cut and fill can send the job down the DA path, with a CC afterwards. A neighbour's CDC does not mean yours will qualify. Large excavation, filling or retaining may also need engineering input and its own approval alongside the house or pool. Send us a survey, title and a planning certificate for the lot first. CertifiBuild then checks the mapping and keeps the approval and inspections on track.
Our services
From approval to sign-off.
One certifier for your whole Picnic Point job, from the first plan check to the occupation certificate.
Local questions
Questions we hear about this suburb.
No two lots in Picnic Point are the same. Give us your address and we will check every map that affects it.
See the council pageAre all Picnic Point homes covered by foreshore controls?
No. The extra materials and landscaping rules apply only to lots inside the foreshore protection zone mapped in council’s development control plan (DCP). The map decides this, not how near you live to the river. Check your lot against that map, and review flood and bushfire information for the property too, since these can send work to a development application. Order a planning certificate and a contour survey before design, given how many lots fall towards the river.
Will my house’s existing approval extend to a new Picnic Point pool?
Usually not. Later extras, such as a pool, deck or retaining structure, generally need a fresh approval, or a formal modification. Check how the pool’s fencing, excavation and drainage fit with the garden and open areas shown in the original approval. A complying development certificate (CDC) may suit when the whole scope meets the state codes, but flood, bushfire or foreshore mapping, or heavy cut and fill, can change that. A neighbour’s CDC is no guide.
Do house setbacks apply to the Kennedy Street shops?
No. The small group of Kennedy Street shops sits in a mapped neighbourhood centre with its own controls, so house setbacks do not carry over. Shops are not Class 1 or Class 10 buildings either, and need a certifier holding the matching registration. Homes near the shops are different. They are judged against the residential rules covering their own land, so a house next door still follows the ordinary residential chapter.
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.