Hawkesbury City Council
Private building certifier in Richmond
Richmond, one of Macquarie’s towns, keeps its historic street layout, and many of its homes are attached. A private certifier in Richmond checks heritage mapping and shared walls together before any renovation is drawn.
NSW 2753
Class 1 homes and Class 10 structures
Local rules
Heritage streets and shared walls in Richmond
One of Macquarie's five towns
Governor Macquarie founded Richmond in 1810 as one of his five towns. James Meehan surveyed its market square a year later. Many streets still follow that plan. The State Heritage Inventory treats the park in the town's centre as a key surviving piece of the early town. That listing covers the park itself, not every nearby house.
A mixed housing stock
Census 2021 figures show 5,418 residents across 2,479 private dwellings. Stand-alone houses accounted for 55.1% of occupied homes. Semis, terraces and townhouses came to 29.9%, and flats to 14.4%. That blend differs sharply from the rural localities nearby, so shared construction is a regular issue. Before you move a wall or a bathroom in an attached home, it pays to know exactly what you share with the neighbours.
The planning rules
Hawkesbury Local Environmental Plan 2012 sets zoning and lists heritage items. Council's Development Control Plan (DCP) has a heritage chapter that guides additions and changes to old fabric. It shows how far you can alter old fabric and the look of the outside.
Typical work
Common projects and how they get approved
What owners build here
Class 1 and 10 projects common in Richmond:
- Townhouse and terrace renovations. Find out which walls are structural, fire-separating or shared before removing anything. Strata consent may also be needed.
- Rear additions to older houses. On heritage land, a discreet rear addition is often easier to support than front changes.
- Kitchens and bathrooms. Moving wet areas can affect shared services and neighbours.
- Garages, carports and pools. Check heritage settings and drainage before fixing a location.
- Granny flats on house lots. Look at heritage settings, flood information and access before you pick a location.
Apartments and shops are not Class 1 or 10 buildings, so another type of registered certifier handles them.
How approval usually works
Exempt status is possible for minor works that meet each standard. For houses with no heritage or flood limits, a CDC may fit, which a certifier issues under the state codes as a quicker approval. Where a listed item, or the setting of one, is involved, a CDC is usually off the table, so the job goes as a development application (DA) to Hawkesbury City Council, then a construction certificate (CC). Flood-affected land can also change the route. With attached homes, strata approval and planning approval are two separate things. Gather the heritage map extract, title and any strata plans first. CertifiBuild will help you sort the heritage and shared-wall questions before drawings are finalised.
Our services
From approval to sign-off.
One certifier for your whole Richmond job, from the first plan check to the occupation certificate.
Local questions
Questions we hear about this suburb.
No two lots in Richmond are the same. Give us your address and we will check every map that affects it.
See the council pageIs every older Richmond property heritage listed?
No. An old look by itself doesn’t make a Richmond home a heritage item. Richmond dates from 1810 as a Macquarie town, and its surveyed street pattern and central park are valued survivors of that early plan, yet the park’s listing covers the park alone. Listed items are named in the Hawkesbury Local Environmental Plan 2012 and shown on its heritage map. Check that map for your lot, and remember that sitting beside a listed place can still bring the heritage chapter of council’s development control plan into play.
Can I take out a wall in my Richmond townhouse?
Possibly, but only once you know what the wall does. In a townhouse it may carry roof or floor loads, provide fire separation between homes, or be shared with the neighbour. Close to 30% of Richmond’s occupied homes in 2021 were attached dwellings, so this question comes up often. Collect the strata plan, scheme by-laws and first approval, and have an engineer look at the structure. Strata consent and planning approval are separate matters, and you may need both before any demolition begins.
Can a Richmond heritage addition use modern materials?
Often it can, depending on your property’s controls and how the addition affects heritage values. Council’s heritage chapter does not demand that new work copy the old, nor that it must contrast. What matters is how the scale, placement and detailing relate to the original fabric. A modest rear addition sitting below the main roof is usually easier to support than changes to the street front. Prepare clear drawings showing old and new side by side, and expect a development application (DA) to Hawkesbury City Council where heritage applies.
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.