The most time-sensitive Inner West planning item for DA and design clients in late September 2026 is Our Fairer Future Plan 2: public exhibition is open, and feedback closes Wednesday 28 October 2026 (Council endorsed exhibition on 15 September 2026). The draft consolidated Inner West Development Control Plan is post-exhibition and is not yet the operative DCP. Site-specific proposals sit at finalisation, deferred, or Gateway — confirm status before hard design lock or lodgement.
Status snapshot (September 2026)
| Item | Status (Sep 2026) | DA / design implication |
|---|---|---|
| Our Fairer Future Plan 2 | EXHIBITION OPEN — feedback to 28 Oct 2026 (Council endorsed 15 Sep 2026) | Check interactive map for Stage 2 / HIA / deferred sites; not LEP yet |
| Draft Inner West DCP (+ Solar on HCA front roofs) | POST-EXHIBITION (closed 28 Jun 2026); finalise/publish targeted late 2026 | Former Marrickville / Leichhardt / Ashfield DCPs still operative |
| Marrickville Metro — 20 Smidmore Street | ENDORSED FOR FINALISATION (Council 25 Aug 2026) — not gazetted | Wait legislation.nsw.gov.au before treating E1 / 24 m / 1.8:1 as made |
| 75–85 Crown St & 116 Princes Hwy, St Peters | DEFERRED (Council 25 Aug 2026) — traffic / deep soil / AH | Do not assume MU1 / RL51 / FSR 4:1 approved |
| Design Excellence (amend cl.6.9) | GATEWAY PENDING (submitted to DPHI; outstanding report 21 Sep 2026) | Exhibition not confirmed open; not operative |
| King Street Special Entertainment Precinct | GATEWAY CONDITIONS received 15 Sep 2026 — exhibition not confirmed | Media trading hours not operative |
| Draft Affordable Housing Policy | NOT ADOPTED — revise plain English; report back for adoption | Draft rates discussed are not final policy |
Primary sources: Your Say — OFFP2; Your Say — Inner West DCP; Council minutes 25 Aug 2026; Outstanding resolutions (21 Sep 2026); DPHI Making and amending LEPs.
Our Fairer Future Plan 2 (open exhibition — act now)
Status: EXHIBITION OPEN. Council endorsed Our Fairer Future Plan 2 for public exhibition on 15 September 2026. Your Say states the last day to provide feedback is Wednesday 28 October 2026, with a revised proposal flagged for Council consideration in December. Official page: yoursay.innerwest.nsw.gov.au/our-fairer-future-plan-2.
Stage 2 builds on Our Fairer Future Plan 1 and focuses on suburbs not considered in stage one, including parts of Annandale, Ashfield, Balmain, Croydon, Dulwich Hill, Enmore, Leichhardt, Lewisham, Lilyfield, Marrickville, Newtown, Petersham, Rozelle, Stanmore and St Peters. The package includes a revised Croydon and Iron Cove Precinct plan; deferred/additional sites (Ashfield, Dulwich Hill, Marrickville, Leichhardt, Rozelle, Balmain); and Housing Investigation Areas in parts of Lilyfield, Leichhardt, Annandale, Lewisham, Petersham, Stanmore, Enmore, Newtown and St Peters.
Your Say describes updated controls to support housing delivery — affordable housing requirements, community-benefit incentives, and changes to building heights, floor space and zoning in selected locations — framed as Council’s alternative to statewide “one-size-fits-all” rezonings around stations and centres.
Hard line: exhibition draft only, not yet LEP. Do not invent lot-level heights, FSRs or zonings from this digest. Use Council’s interactive digital map and downloadable plans on Your Say before buying, locking design or lodging. For listed suburbs, treat OFFP2 as the highest LGA-wide strategic signal this window — then wait for any later LEP pathway and gazettal. Related pathway context: 25 August 2026 minutes.
Draft Inner West DCP (+ Solar Policy) — post-exhibition
Status: POST-EXHIBITION. Council endorsed exhibition on 28 April 2026. Engagement ran 13 May 2026 – 28 June 2026. Your Say now states feedback has closed; Council is reviewing what was heard; finalise/publish is targeted late 2026. Official page: yoursay.innerwest.nsw.gov.au/inner-west-development-control-plan.
The draft Inner West Development Control Plan (IWDCP) is intended to support IWLEP 2022 with detailed controls (design/layout, sunlight and ventilation, car parking and related matters) and to replace three former DCPs: Marrickville DCP 2011; Leichhardt DCP 2013; Comprehensive Inner West DCP 2016 (Ashfield). Your Say structure: Parts 1–5 (purpose through definitions), plus an electronic eDCP tool. Your Say states the IWDCP excludes areas subject to the Parramatta Road State-led Rezoning.
Exhibited alongside: Solar Panels Policy on HCA front roof planes. Your Say wording states it “allows solar panels to be installed on homes in all suburbs, including conservation areas without a full development application, as long as clear design rules are met.” That is Your Say language only — verify against the final published policy/DCP and the Codes SEPP before client advice.
Hard line: former Marrickville / Leichhardt / Ashfield DCPs remain operative until Council publishes the new DCP. Do not claim the draft IWDCP is live.
Marrickville Metro (20 Smidmore) — endorsed for finalisation
Status: ENDORSED FOR FINALISATION (not gazetted). Gateway 23 March 2026; public exhibition 1–29 May 2026; Council determination 25 August 2026 endorsed the finalisation pathway. Your Say stage is described as Finalisation. Pages: Your Say — 20 Smidmore Street; minutes: 25 Aug 2026; tracker: Planning Proposal Tracker (note: tracker stage can lag minutes — prefer Your Say / minutes for post-25 Aug status).
Council endorsed IWLEP 2022 amendments to: rezone E4 → E1 Local Centre; max HOB 24 m; FSR 0.95:1 → 1.8:1; site-specific local provision requiring no net loss of non-residential floor space, or non-residential FSR ≥ 1.64:1, whichever greater; and delete Schedule 1 clauses 44 and 49. Your Say notes 24 m matches the existing building height and 1.8:1 allows about 10% additional GFA, largely within existing built form. GM authorised to finalise under s 3.36 EP&A Act (Council was LPMA per Gateway).
Hard line: wait gazettal on legislation.nsw.gov.au (IWLEP 2022) before treating Metro controls as made. Endorsed for finalisation ≠ gazetted.
St Peters Crown / Princes Hwy — deferred (caution)
Status: DEFERRED (not approved). Gateway 23 September 2025; public exhibition May–June 2026, extended to 28 June 2026 after incorrect supporting documents were published (replaced Friday 29 May 2026). On 25 August 2026 Council deferred the matter to the next Ordinary meeting and sought further information around traffic management, deep soil and affordable housing provisions. Your Say: 75–85 Crown Street and 116 Princes Highway, St Peters; minutes: 25 Aug 2026. The outstanding resolutions report generated 21 September 2026 notes an additional report drafted for the September Ordinary Meeting — in progress.
Per Your Say, the proposal sought site-specific IWLEP 2022 and DCP changes for roughly a 9-storey mixed use outcome (~65 dwellings; ~1,016 sqm commercial/retail), including: rezone 75 Crown Street R1 → MU1; HOB 9.5 m / 14 m → RL 51 m; FSR 0.85:1 / 1.75:1 → 4:1; limited ground-floor residential (≤ 88 sqm GFA); and 2% of new residential GFA as affordable housing (on-site in perpetuity or equivalent contribution) — wording as on Your Say.
Hard line: Council has not approved the amendment. Deferral shows post-exhibition risk where traffic, deep soil and AH remain under scrutiny. Do not design as if MU1 / RL51 / FSR 4:1 are live.
Watches (Gateway / not operative)
Design Excellence — amend Clause 6.9. Status: GATEWAY PENDING. Council endorsed/forwarded for Gateway on 16 June 2026. Outstanding report (21 September 2026): submitted to DPHI for Gateway — in progress; exhibition not confirmed open. Endorsed PP would mandate an independent Design Review Panel (≥3 persons) where the clause applies, require the consent authority to consider that advice, and support rigorous review for developments ≥14 m. Sources: Design Excellence PP PDF; Outstanding report 21 Sep 2026. Not live.
King Street SEP (Newtown / St Peters) — with City of Sydney. Status: GATEWAY CONDITIONS 15 Sep 2026; exhibition not confirmed; not operative. Council endorsed Gateway submission 16 June 2026; joint media 30 June 2026 described aligned trading-hour proposals before community feedback. Outstanding report: Gateway conditions received 15 September 2026; engagement collaboration ongoing. Media hours are not operative — verify against exhibited maps when published. Source: King Street media (30 Jun 2026). Related: City of Sydney September 2026.
Draft Affordable Housing Policy. Status: NOT ADOPTED. Exhibition authorised 28 April 2026. On 25 August 2026 Council resolved to revise in plain English, streamline, and report back within two months for adoption. Draft rates discussed pre-exhibition are not adopted. Sources: 28 Apr Extraordinary minutes; 25 Aug minutes.
State context (brief)
Statewide, the LEP Making Guideline – July 2026 (DPHI) sets modules and benchmark working-day totals for Modules 2–5 of 320 days (standard) / 420 days (complex). Planning proposals run via the NSW Planning Portal. Soft claim: process expectations for Inner West PPs — not a site zoning change. Sources: Guideline PDF; Making and amending LEPs.
Watch only: Parramatta Road Corridor Inner West State-led rezoning — Council points to State draft exhibition in late 2026; September 2026 “anticipated” formal consultation was not confirmed live on DPHI pages this pass. Do not claim open without a DPHI notice. Draft IWDCP excludes those areas. Council corridor page.
Practical next steps for giantA clients
- If your site sits in Stage 2 / HIA / Croydon–Iron Cove / deferred lists, check the OFFP2 interactive map before hard design lock — it is not LEP yet.
- Do not redesign to the draft Inner West DCP alone; former DCPs remain operative until published.
- For Marrickville Metro and other LEP amendments, confirm gazettal on legislation.nsw.gov.au before relying on new zones, heights or FSRs.
- Treat St Peters Crown/Princes Hwy as deferred — not approved.
- Do not treat Design Excellence cl.6.9, King Street SEP hours, or AH Policy draft rates as live.
- Document pack: architectural / DA documentation; heritage trigger → SOHI guide.
- Related: Parramatta Sep 2026; City of Sydney Sep 2026.
- Soft CTA: request a review with giantA — no invented fees or timelines.
Related guides and services
- All services
- Architectural services (DA / CDC / Class 2)
- Meet the team
- Heritage Impact Statements / SOHI
- Parramatta planning updates September 2026
- City of Sydney planning updates September 2026
FAQs
What Inner West planning item should DA and design clients act on first in late September 2026?
Our Fairer Future Plan 2 is on public exhibition until 28 October 2026 (Council endorsed 15 September 2026). It proposes housing-related control changes in named suburbs but is not yet LEP. Check Council’s interactive map for your site, and treat the draft Inner West DCP as post-exhibition only — former DCPs remain operative until the new DCP is published.
Is the draft Inner West DCP the operative DCP now?
No. Exhibition closed on 28 June 2026; finalise/publish is targeted late 2026. Until Council publishes the new DCP, Marrickville DCP 2011, Leichhardt DCP 2013 and Comprehensive Inner West DCP 2016 (Ashfield) remain the operative instruments.
Are Marrickville Metro LEP amendments or King Street SEP trading hours live?
No on both counts for this digest. Metro (20 Smidmore) is endorsed for finalisation — wait gazettal. King Street SEP has Gateway conditions (15 September 2026) but exhibition dates were not confirmed and media trading hours are not operative.
Next step: Request an Inner West DA design review with giantA — architectural services and approvals documentation for homes and small developments across Greater Sydney.