The previous Business and Industrial Zones in NSW have been replaced by a new set of Employment Zones.
The changes were introduced by the NSW Department of Planning, Environment on 26 April 2023.
Changes for Byron Shire
The table below shows the previous business and industrial zones in Byron Shire and the new employment zones that have replaced them.
| Current Business and Industrial Zone |
New Employment Zone |
|
B1 Neighbourhood Centre
B2 Local Centre |
E1 Local Centre |
| B4 Mixed Use |
MU1 Mixed Use |
| B7 Business Park |
E3 Productivity Support or
E4 General Industrial |
|
IN1 General Industrial
IN2 Light Industrial |
E4 General Industrial |
The new employment zones have been designed in a way that maintains consistency with the previous business and industrial zones.
In most cases, land uses that were previously permitted with consent in a given location will continue to be permitted with consent under the new zones.
The list of permitted uses in some areas has increased as a result of merging two zones together. Landowners will have greater flexibility in these locations.
If a land use is no longer permitted following the introduction of the new employment zones, a 2 year transitional period will apply during which the land use will continue to be permitted with consent. The transitional period will end on 26 April 2025.
Council will give further consideration to the permitted land uses in the previous B7 Business Park zone in the Byron Arts and Industry Estate, as well as any other changes to permitted uses that may be necessary. Any changes to the employment zones would need more consultation with the community.
About the new Employment Zones
The five new employment zones for NSW are:
- E1 Local Centre
- E2 Commercial Centre
- E3 Productivity Support
- E4 General Industrial
- E5 Heavy Industrial
Three additional zones have also been created to accommodate land uses in existing business and industrial zones that are not productivity related:
- MU1 Mixed Use
- W4 Working Waterfront; and
- SP4 Enterprise.
In Byron Shire, four out of the eight new zones for NSW will apply.
The intention of the new zones is to:
- promote flexibility of land use
- support productivity
- provide areas that have a mixture of retail, business, office and accommodation uses to increase employment opportunities in accessible locations.
The Department Planning and Environment has worked closely with each council to ensure LEPs were amended so the land-use outcomes remained locally appropriate. The employment zones framework for Byron Shire was endorsed by Council at the 28 April 2022 Council meeting.
Further information is available on the Dept Planning and Environment Employment Zones Reform webpage.