Penrith City Council
Private building certifier in St Marys
St Marys has a growing town centre with new planning controls and plenty of older houses and townhouses around it. We help owners find which rules apply to their home and certify the work.
NSW 2760
Class 1 homes and Class 10 structures
Local rules
Building in and around St Marys centre
New controls for the town centre
According to council, amendments to the planning instruments for the centre took effect in early February 2026, on the 6th. A rewritten development control plan (DCP) chapter for the centre then began five days later, on 11 February. Inside the mapped centre, that chapter overrides any other DCP rule it clashes with. Do not rely on older drafts for a job being designed now. Always check the version date on any document your designer relies on.
How the centre chapter works
The chapter splits the centre into character areas. It handles homes in one part and commercial or mixed-use sites in another. It also maps walking links that may need to pass through private land. So both the location and the type of development decide which setbacks apply.
Homes around the centre
At the 2021 Census, St Marys had 13,256 residents. A total of 5,648 private dwellings were counted, all inside Penrith City Council. Separate houses were 51.2% of occupied homes. Semis and townhouses were 30.0% and flats 18.5%. Beyond the centre, homes follow the standard residential controls plus the Penrith Local Environmental Plan 2010. Flood, bushfire or other hazards are checked on each lot's own mapping. Growth planned for the centre leaves the rules for houses elsewhere unchanged.
Typical work
Common projects and how they get approved
What owners build here
For Class 1 and 10 work in St Marys, owners usually ask about:
- Renovating homes and extending them at the back. Outside the centre these follow the residential chapter. An older cottage may still need its heritage or streetscape value checked.
- Granny flats and replacement homes. Confirm the lot is suitable and the zone allows the use.
- Townhouse alterations. Find the consent for the whole complex and the strata or title plan before you change a courtyard or wall.
- Garages, carports and patios. Check setbacks, drainage and landscaped area on the survey.
Shops, apartments and mixed-use blocks in the centre belong to different classes. They need a certifier who holds the matching registration.
How approval usually works
A few small works need no approval if they meet each standard. For anything else, either a certifier grants a CDC promptly against a State code, or you lodge a development application (DA) with council and then obtain a CC. A CDC may be blocked by heritage or a mapped hazard. A neighbour approved under the old rules is not a safe guide to what you can build now. First, see whether the centre map takes in your lot. Then send us a planning certificate, survey and plans. CertifiBuild works out which controls apply and handles each inspection until the final certificate is issued.
Our services
From approval to sign-off.
One certifier for your whole St Marys job, from the first plan check to the occupation certificate.
Local questions
Questions we hear about this suburb.
No two lots in St Marys are the same. Give us your address and we will check every map that affects it.
See the council pageIs the new St Marys centre plan still only a draft?
No, the new controls are in force. Council says the changes to the planning instruments for the centre of St Marys began on 6 February 2026. The rewritten development control plan (DCP) chapter for the centre started on 11 February. Inside the mapped centre, that chapter overrides any other DCP rule it clashes with. Older consultation drafts you find online no longer reflect the rules, and transitional rules may apply to earlier applications. Always check the version date on any document your designer is using.
Is my St Marys house inside the town centre area?
Not necessarily. A dedicated map shows exactly where the St Marys centre chapter applies, and many houses sit outside it. Those homes follow Penrith’s standard residential controls and the Penrith Local Environmental Plan 2010, with flood, bushfire and other hazards checked on each lot’s own mapping. Planned growth in the centre leaves house rules elsewhere as they were. Look up your lot on the centre map, or order a planning certificate, before assuming centre setbacks or growth plans are relevant.
Can my St Marys house project use the centre’s mixed-use setbacks?
No. The centre chapter sets separate controls for homes and for commercial or mixed-use sites, and both your location and the type of building decide which setbacks apply. A house extension uses the residential controls, either within the centre chapter or, outside the centre, in the general residential chapter. A taller neighbour may be a different building type or approved under the old rules, and copying it can mislead you. Confirm your lot’s location and use first, then design to the matching table.
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.