funding · Bega Valley Shire Council
Four Bega Valley areas move towards rezoning after unanimous council vote
The proposal will go to the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure for a Gateway Determination before any public exhibition.
Four areas left out of the Bega Valley Local Environmental Plan 2013 will move into the next stage of the rezoning process after Bega Valley Shire Council unanimously supported a planning proposal on 19 August.
The proposal will be submitted to the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure for a Gateway Determination under section 3.34 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. Cr Mitchell Nadin was absent.
The four areas are described in the proposal as deferred matters from the 2013 local environmental plan. The council’s resolution does not specify the proposed zoning for each area.
No public exhibition has yet occurred. Exhibition will follow if a Gateway Determination is granted, giving affected landowners and nearby residents an opportunity to review the detailed proposal and make submissions.
Council also resolved that the proposal can proceed to finalisation and gazettal without another report to councillors if it meets the conditions of the Gateway Determination, requires no substantial changes and receives no objections during exhibition.
The resolution does not approve development on any particular property. The final zoning outcome remains subject to the Gateway process and public submissions.
The deferred-matters proposal was separate from council’s decision to begin preparing building-height and setback changes for the Merimbula Town Centre. That work passed with Cr Peter Haggar opposed, while the deferred-matters proposal passed without opposition.
The four locations covered by the broader council agenda included Merimbula Town Centre, Tarraganda Lane in Tarraganda, Eden, Quarantine Bay, Cuttagee Bridge, the Twyford Hall Complex in Merimbula, Bega and Littleton Gardens. The supplied decision does not identify which four locations are covered by the deferred-matters proposal.
The next formal step is submission to the NSW planning department. No timing has been stated for the Gateway Determination or any subsequent exhibition.
Reference minutes
This report is based on Bega Valley Shire Council’s ordinary council meeting of 19 August 2026.
Key facts from the minutes
- Council supported rezoning four areas deferred from the Bega Valley Local Environmental Plan 2013.
- The proposal will be submitted to the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure.
- The submission seeks a Gateway Determination under section 3.34 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.
- Public exhibition will occur if Gateway approval is granted.
- Council can progress the proposal to finalisation and gazettal without another report if Gateway conditions are met, no substantial changes are required and no objections are received.
- The resolution passed unanimously, with Cr Mitchell Nadin absent.
Why it matters
- The proposal starts the formal process for deciding future zoning in four areas deferred from the Bega Valley Local Environmental Plan 2013. Affected landowners and nearby residents will have to wait for public exhibition to see the detailed changes and make submissions.