FAQs

A Master Plan is a long-term vision to guide development and land use outcomes. When we Master Plan, we think ahead (future) to create a detailed plan showing how the area should develop and be organised in the future.  We want to make sure it functions well for future residents by thinking about where the houses, shops, roads, footpaths, community spaces and bus routes are going to be located.  We also want to make sure the centre doesn't negatively impact on existing centres, like Dapto.

Council expects the town and village centres to be master planned, demonstrating how the plan(s) respond to the release area’s planning principles (found in Chapter D16 of the Wollongong Development Control Plan). 

• The town centres (like Marshall Mount) need to contribute to the creation of retail, business, commercial, and community hubs that act as public transport nodes and provide significant local employment opportunities. 
• The village centres (like Fowlers) should develop localised business opportunities at key places and intersections such as where bus stops, community facilities and local open spaces come together to create an urban focal point for the local community.

It is important that we hear your ideas and comments on these future centres. The current draft plans have been prepared by Urbis who were engaged by Council using a funding grant from State Government. They developed the draft Plans with input from landowners (or their representatives), Council, specialist planners and experts in flooding, transport, and the environment. 

We want to hear your ideas so that we get the right balance for the future communities. Let us know what you think. 

Within the town centre, we have planned (for) a supermarket and convenience retail spaces which are accessible to pedestrians and cyclists from the adjacent roads, open space, and key destinations. The plan includes a community facility co-located with the outdoor plaza fronting the Moreton Bay fig tree and the retention/establishment of viewing corridors to the fig tree and the escarpment throughout the town centre to reinforce the local landscape character.

Shop top housing and apartments (up to 4 storeys) along the main roads will achieve high-density housing within the town centre. The R3 zones adjacent the town centre, should include medium-density housing like attached, semi-detached and dual occupancy homes.

A supermarket, retailing and service opportunities along the main road will provide for the daily needs of the future Fowlers Village Centre residents. The main street accesses both the commercial and residential precincts whilst celebrating the view to the nearby mountains, reinforcing the scenic character of the area. The main street will be pedestrian-friendly, with slow traffic, allowing easy connection with the local park proposed opposite the village centre. The residential precinct will be medium density with a mix of one and two-storey development.

All future centres of West Dapto are identified in Council’s West Dapto Vision, adopted in December 2018. The town centre locations were chosen, based on extensive planning, the consideration of constraints, future road networks/the projected population and a Local Environmental Study. For context, (the Marshall Mount Town Centre location) was rezoned in 2018.

Also, a planning proposal is currently under review by the Council and the State government for the Fowlers Town Centre to rezone land from RU2 for residential development. Further work will be conducted for deferred areas, to resolve outstanding flooding matters.  

You can view the Master Plans on this page. You can also view the Master Plans (printed versions) at the Dapto Library, or at the Council Administration Building at 41 Burelli Street, Wollongong.

There are a few ways you can provide feedback:

• Filling out the online survey
• Contact either David Fitzgibbon, Nina Kent, Rebekah Cox, or Carla O’Meley on (02) 42277111
• Email  records@wollongong.nsw.gov.au
• Write to the Urban Release Team, City Strategy, Wollongong City Council, Locked Bag 8821, WOLLONGONG DC NSW 2500
• Fill out a hard copy of the feedback form available at the Dapto Library or Customer Service Centre, Wollongong City Council Administration Building, Burelli Street in Wollongong.

After the engagement period ends, a summary report will be written that outlines the ideas and feedback from the community. The information provided in this report will help us further develop the draft Master Plan. The draft Master Plan will then go to the Council for adoption in mid-2024. This is where Councillors decide during a Council meeting whether to approve the Master Plan. 

Once the Master Plan is adopted, many items in the Plan will then go through further community engagement to determine the finer details.

Various areas within the West Dapto area contain sites of Aboriginal significance. These sites are places deemed meaningful, spiritual and form a sense of connection by Aboriginal people based on their beliefs (Wollongong City Council, Aboriginal Engagement Framework).

However, some significant sites are undocumented and known to only Aboriginal people and their families. Therefore, engagement with the local Aboriginal Knowledge Holders is critical.

Consultation with Aboriginal stakeholders will be undertaken during this project to understand how the development principles can enhance their connection to Country and reduce future development impacts on items of Aboriginal cultural significance.

The Fowlers Village Centre and Marshall Mount Town Centre are not intended to compete with the existing Dapto regional centre. The anticipated future population in the West Dapto Urban Release Area (WDURA) and surrounding each centre, is expected to support the social and economic services and activities within each new centre. More information on the Town Centre Principles and hierarchy can the found in the West Dapto Vision from page 25.

Yes. Future development of Fowlers Village and Marshall Mount Town Centre will be guided by the Master Plans once adopted by Council. However, before development occurs Development Applications would be required. Additional opportunity to comment would be available through public exhibition of Development Applications in accordance with Council’s Community Participation Plan.

Development of West Dapto’s future centres will depend on the timing of private investment. Therefore, it is difficult to predict when the centres will be developed. Council is committed to undertaking the planning to enable centres to be developed when private investment is available. The Centres Master Planning project is a step in the process.