Development Applications in Mount Annan, NSW

Development activity in Mount Annan

Look, Mount Annan’s been my patch for the better part of a decade now, and if you’re not across what’s happening here, you’re leaving money on the table. The place is a mixed bag of housing stock – you’ve got the older brick veneers from the early 2000s out near the town centre, then the newer estates pushing south and west with those narrow blocks and high fences. Very few period homes. This is a suburb built on the back of the master-planned growth corridor, so most houses are between ten and twenty years old. That means a lot of them are due for serious work. The client base is split pretty cleanly: young families moving up from Campbelltown or Liverpool who want more space, and the original owners who bought off the plan back in 2005 and are now either upsizing into a double-storey or cashing out to a knockdown-rebuilder. Investors are thin on the ground here – yields aren’t flash – but the owner-occupier market is steady.

Right now, we’ve got four development applications sitting with the local council. That’s quiet for a suburb this size. But don’t let the low number fool you – the work that’s coming through is tightly focused. The most active projects I’m seeing are granny flats, secondary dwellings, and light commercial fitouts. The granny flat trend is huge. Homeowners are putting them up for ageing parents who don’t want to leave the area, or as rental income to cover the mortgage. The council has gotten better with these over the last two years, but they still want to see a clear driveway access and a separate sewer connection. If you’re not prepping those details in the DA, you’re looking at a six-week delay, easy. The fitout work is mainly in the small retail strip near the station and the medical centre – cafes, chiropractors, that kind of thing. Quick turnaround jobs, but the council is sticky on fire compliance and carparking contributions.

Council’s turnaround on DAs is about eight to ten weeks for standard jobs, but they’ll drag their feet if you’re on a battle-axe block or anywhere near the creek corridors. Common conditions I’ve seen recently include a mandatory stormwater detention tank for any new impervious area over fifty square metres, and a landscape plan that specifies only local native species – no exotics. They’re also clamping down on side setbacks for secondary dwellings. You can’t just squeeze a granny flat two metres off the boundary anymore; they want three metres minimum if there’s a window on that side. Know that going in, and you’ll save yourself a resubmission.

The housing mix here means you’re not dealing with heritage overlays or character preservation orders. That’s a blessing. But the trade-off is that the blocks are getting smaller. The newer subdivisions have lots as narrow as 10 metres wide. That changes how you design an extension or a secondary dwelling. You’re working with a long, thin footprint. The clients who are knocking down and rebuilding are usually the ones on the original 600-square-metre lots near the reserve. They want a modern four-bedder with a study and a butler’s pantry, and they’re willing to spend $350,000 to $450,000 on the build. The renovators are the ones on the smaller blocks, doing kitchen and bathroom upgrades to flip for a quick profit.

If you’re a builder thinking about coming into Mount Annan, you need to know that the local council is not the enemy, but they’re not your mate either. They’re pragmatic. They want the paperwork done right the first time. I’ve had jobs where I’ve submitted a DA with a full geotech report and a shadow diagram, and it sailed through in six weeks. Another job I skimped on the site survey and it sat for twelve weeks. The clients here are informed – they read the council website and they talk to their neighbours. You can’t bullshit them. They want a fixed price, a clear timeline, and a builder who shows up on time. The market is steady, not booming. But for a bloke who knows the council’s quirks and the local supply yards, there’s enough work to keep