Development of the Woollahra area has been steadily increasing since European settlement in 1790, particularly since being declared a local government area in the 1860's.

Today, while this increasing urbanisation brings with it many economic and social benefits, the prosperity of our area is underpinned by the need for a healthy environment. As the local government authority for this area, we seek to manage the land in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.

Sustainable Building Advisory Service

This free and voluntary service provides eligible residents with sustainable building advice from a qualified architect at the early stages of design.

Contaminated Land

Council works in partnership with the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW) to manage and report areas of land contamination.

Contaminated land can have major economic, legal and planning implications for the community. Contamination can limit land use potential or increase costs for developers and councils. Their investigation and clean-up is important to protect human health and the environment.

To find out more about contaminated land management, visit the DECCW website.

Asbestos

Asbestos is the generic term for a number of fibrous silicate minerals. There are two major groups of asbestos:

1. the serpentine group contains chrysotile, commonly known as white asbestos
2. the amphibole group contains amosite (brown asbestos) and crocidolite (blue asbestos), as well as some other less common types, such as tremolite, actinolite and anthophyllite.

Asbestos was commonly mixed with cement to form products such as fibro sheets, pipes and gutters and under floor packing. It was also woven into fabric and used for pipe lagging, boiler insulation and loose roof insulation.

Refer to Council's Asbestos safety page for more information.

Acid Sulfate Soil (ASS)

ASS is the common name given to naturally occurring soils that contain iron sulfides. Problems arise when these naturally occurring sulfides are disturbed and exposed to air, creating sulfuric acid. The sulfuric acid can drain into waterways and cause severe environmental damage and damage to steel and concrete structures.

The following map identifies land according to it's probability of ASS. The map was adapted from the NSW Acid Sulfate Soils Risk Map produced by the former Department of Land and Water Conservation in 1998.

View Acid Sulfate Soils Planning Map (PDF, 2 MB)

For development on ASS classified lands applicants may need to carry out special site investigations and reports.

View DA Annexure 7 - Acid Sulfate Soils (PDF)

Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD)

BASIX
BASIX is the Building Sustainability Index. It is a web-based planning tool designed to assess the potential performance of new homes against a range of sustainability indices: Landscape, Stormwater, Water, Thermal Comfort and Energy.

Ecospecifier
Provides a comprehensive appraisal of the sustainability of products used in the construction and occupation of buildings.

Greenstar
Sustainability rating tool for Office Design, Office As-Built, Office Interiors and Office Asset.

National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS)
A comprehensive built environment, performance-based rating system that measures an existing building's overall environmental performance during operation.

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