NSW government lifts granny flat ban in Western Sydney airport noise zones

Months out from the official opening of Western Sydney International Airport (WSI) the NSW government has reversed a six-year ban on granny flats in areas forecast to be least affected by aircraft noise.

The amendment to the Western Parkland City environmental planning policy permits secondary dwellings of up 85 square metres in Wollondilly, Fairfield, Camden, Liverpool and Penrith.

The change, made in parliament last week, applies to land within the lower noise impact zones identified the Australian Noise Exposure Concept (ANEC).

The amendment does not apply to the suburbs of Luddenham, Bringelly and Badgery's Creek, which are closest to the airport.

New dwellings must include measures such as double-glazed windows to attenuate noise.

Planning Minister Paul Scully said the change would increase housing options for about 1,500 residents in one of the country's fastest growing regions.

"This allows people to have that granny flat to allow aging parents to move in, to allow the 20-somethings to have some separation out of the household, or just have somewhere you may be able to add to some housing supply in a sensible manner," he said.

The restriction introduced into the area's State Environmental Planning Policy in late 2020 was designed to reduce construction noise in the loudest areas under the flight path.

"It was [also] to stop population growth in areas that were most affected by noise under flight paths," Mr Scully said.

"We didn't want people to move in to build secondary dwellings in areas and then suddenly discover that they're particularly acutely affected by flight paths and complain about that."

The ANEC forecasts aircraft noise under a range of scenarios, including the potential addition of a second parallel runway.

Mr Scully said the ban became an "artificial restriction" once long-term aircraft noise modelling around WSI had been finalised.

"We know the contours, we know the modelling, we know the work that's been done in arriving at where the flight paths are, where the noise impacts will be so, we're able to make that change," he said.

"We believe we've got the balance right between allowing secondary dwellings in those lower-impacted areas while maintaining the restriction [in high impact zones]."

Mr Scully said a development application may be required in some locations and restrictions may apply for RU2-zoned land.

Size limit still in place

Independent member for Wollondilly Judy Hannan has welcomed the change after years of advocacy in the community and parliament.

"There was no common sense in the [ban] so it was wonderful to have that amendment go through," she said.

Silverdale resident Lisa Osborn and her husband have spent more than five years living in a caravan behind her son's property while trying to secure approval for a secondary dwelling.

Ms Osborn said they had spent more than $100,000 in legal and planning fees fighting the restriction.

The 56-year-old said she felt "such a load lift off [her] shoulders" when Ms Hannan called with news of the changes.

She will now begin the process of building a 85-square-metre home on the 200-hectare property, which sits on the edge of the ANEC zone, but hopes the rules would eventually be expanded for larger landholders.

"People in residential [areas] have been given around another 20 square metres allowance than what they had before, whereas we've sort of had it taken off us … so we sort of feel duped."

Regarding the size limit, Ms Hannan said she "would have liked it bigger."

"We've been bargaining backwards and forwards and 85-square-metres is where we've landed for the time being," she said.

Lina Semenec said the change would allow her elderly mother to move onto her 6-hectare property outside Silverdale.

"We can sell her house [in Sydney] and move her into a granny flat... it'll give her a better quality of life as she won't be so financially stressed and she can help me look after my daughter," Ms Semenec said.

"I really like that old mentality of it taking a village to raise a family... Mum's really happy and so are we."