Penrith Planning Updates October 2026: DCP Chapters Renumbered from 1 October, LEP Review with Parliamentary Counsel and Werrington Rezoning Post-Exhibition

If you are lodging a DA in Penrith, the biggest change this quarter is one you might miss: since 1 October 2026, every chapter of Penrith DCP 2014 has a new number. Amendment No. 18 moved the old C, D and E chapters into a new B, C and D structure, removed the Sydney Science Park chapter and added FOGO guidance to waste. Meanwhile, the Penrith LEP housekeeping review is with Parliamentary Counsel for drafting, and the State-led Werrington rezoning is post-exhibition.

Status snapshot (October 2026)

Primary sources: Penrith DCP 2014 page, Council public notices, Your Say Penrith LEP/DCP Review, Council business papers (27 July and 24 August 2026) and the NSW Planning Portal.

Penrith DCP 2014 Amendment No. 18: in force from 1 October 2026

Council endorsed the first stage of its DCP review at the Ordinary Meeting of 24 August 2026, and the public notice set the commencement date as 1 October 2026. Council describes the changes as mostly administrative and non-policy. But they change how you reference the DCP, and a DA report that cites the old chapters will look out of date to an assessing officer.

Old chapter, new chapter

Here are the moves most residential and small commercial projects will notice, from Council’s structure comparison table:

Council’s public notice refers to the waste chapter as “B5”, but the live DCP page and the comparison table both list B6 Waste Management, with B5 being Environmental Management. Use the live chapter list on Council’s DCP page when you cite controls.

Waste: FOGO guidance and one consolidated guideline

The new B6 chapter adds advisory notes on the State’s food organics and garden organics (FOGO) mandate. The chapter says FOGO collection becomes mandatory for residential development from 1 July 2030, and for certain non-residential premises in stages from 1 July 2026 depending on their weekly residual waste capacity. It also points applicants to the EPA’s mandate calculator, which is linked from the EPA business food waste page. After exhibition, Council added more guidance on the business mandate in response to industry submissions. It did not add new FOGO-specific controls for non-residential development. Instead, assessment will rely on Council’s Guidelines for Waste Infrastructure (October 2026), which now consolidate the previous separate guidelines into one document. For dwellings, the chapter confirms the bin allocation that your waste storage area must fit: a 140 L residual bin, a 240 L recycling bin and a 240 L FOGO bin per dwelling. Our guide to waste management plans for NSW DAs covers what councils usually ask for.

What Council dropped after exhibition

• D16 Luddenham Road: Council removed the proposed Cumulative Noise Impact Assessment control and appendix, as well as the proposed lot yield controls and map. Lot numbers stay governed by Penrith LEP 2010 clause 7.24, and the existing noise impact statement control remains.
• Child care savings: Council did not proceed with the proposed wider savings provision. Only the six DAs already listed in Part A are assessed under the pre-29 July 2025 child care controls.

Penrith LEP 2010 review (PP-2025-2448): waiting gazettal

The companion planning proposal is mostly housekeeping, but parts of it are site-specific. As exhibited from 10 April to 12 May 2026, it:

• removes duplicate and obsolete Schedule 1 additional permitted uses and updates property descriptions
• updates Schedule 5 heritage entries (addresses, descriptions and items)
• rezones land owned by NSW Government agencies in Emu Plains, St Marys and Glenmore Park
• corrects the Land Reservation Acquisition Map and removes land that has already been acquired
• introduces minimum lot size controls for properties that currently have none, along with other zone and mapping fixes

After 23 public and two agency submissions, Council made two changes. It dropped the proposed heritage listing of 42 Gidley Street, St Marys (the building was rebuilt as a replica under a 1987 approval). It also dropped the SP2 to SP3 rezoning at Memorial Avenue, Penrith, after Transport for NSW raised pedestrian access to the Yandhai Bridge. Council endorsed the amended proposal on 24 August 2026 and forwarded it to Parliamentary Counsel for drafting. The Gateway determination requires the LEP to be made on or before 27 November 2026, and it takes effect when published on the NSW legislation website. We could not confirm it had been made on 15 October 2026, so check the legislation website before you rely on a new minimum lot size or a changed heritage entry.

Werrington Precinct (Western Sydney University): post-exhibition

DPHI exhibited the State-assessed rezoning for about 99 hectares of the university’s Werrington north and south sites from 23 July to 20 August 2026. The NSW Government release describes up to 1,500 homes (about 500 apartments, 900 lots and 45 affordable homes), a local centre and buildings of two to seven storeys. Council’s 24 August report summarised the proposed LEP changes as follows:

• MU1 Mixed Use and R1 General Residential zones, replacing SP4 Enterprise and R2
• building heights from 9.5 m up to 22 m
• an MU1 floor space ratio range of 0.6:1 to 2.8:1
• R1 minimum lot sizes of 125 m² or 200 m²
• a reduced heritage curtilage for Frogmore House (Werrington Park House)

Council officers estimated the controls could allow up to 2,696 dwellings, compared with the 1,500 described by the proponents. The draft submission said the rezoning should not progress until Council’s concerns are resolved, including employment land, open space and infrastructure funding. Stockland says a determination is not expected until late 2026. Until then, existing Penrith LEP 2010 controls apply.

170 Russell Street, Emu Plains: with DPHI

This proposal would rezone part of the site from Rural 1(d) (Future Urban) to E4 General Industrial. It would also add local provisions requiring development to follow the endorsed flood impact assessment and filling strategy. On 27 July 2026, Council said the proposal has strategic merit for employment land. It noted there are “differing technical opinions regarding flood planning” and asked DPHI to finalise it after considering the competing flood modelling and advice from the NSW Reconstruction Authority and the SES.

Two exhibition villages in Glenmore Park Stage 3: post-exhibition

Exhibition homes are already permitted in the R2 zone, but exhibition villages are not. So two developers are seeking site-specific Schedule 1 additional permitted uses in the Glenmore Park Stage 3 release area at Mulgoa:

• HomeWorld Group, 2183 The Northern Road: about 94 display homes. Gateway was issued 19 Aug 2026.
• Mirvac, 2337 The Northern Road and 35–53 Chain-O-Ponds Road: up to 25 display homes for about five years, which would then become permanent dwellings. Gateway was issued 20 Aug 2026.

Both were exhibited from 3 September to 1 October 2026, and Council is the local plan-making authority for both. Post-exhibition reports have not yet been published.

Jamisontown Uniting Church heritage listing: open exhibition

Council proposes to list the church at 185 Mulgoa Road, Jamisontown in Schedule 5. It was built in 1889 and designed by local architect William Sykes. The listing would include a heritage map update covering three of the site’s four lots as curtilage. The exhibition runs to 5pm on 22 October 2026. If you own land next to the site, a future DA may need a heritage impact statement once the listing is made.

Also worth watching

• Westfield Penrith (569–595 High Street): the proposal for heights of up to 84 m (Block A) and 47 m (Block B), with City Park solar access controls, was exhibited late in 2025. The Planning Portal still shows it at Gateway implementation.
• Kingswood–Werrington: the Structure Plan and Place Plan were endorsed in September 2026. Council says they do not change planning controls. Any LEP or DCP changes will follow master planning, with separate consultation.
• St Marys Town Centre: the St Marys Town Centre Contributions Plan 2025 (in force since May 2026) applies a 4% levy to development costing more than $200,000. Include it in feasibility alongside the new D15 St Marys chapter.

Practical next steps

1. Update your DA templates: re-map DCP compliance tables to the new chapter numbers (for example, landscape and urban heat now sit in B5, waste in B6 and residential in C2).
2. Waste rooms and bin areas: size them for the full three-bin allocation, and check whether a commercial tenancy will trigger the FOGO business mandate.
3. Former Sydney Science Park land: design to the Aerotropolis DCP, not Penrith DCP.
4. Lot size and heritage: before lodging, confirm whether the LEP review has been published on the NSW legislation website.
5. Werrington, Emu Plains and Mulgoa sites: treat the rezoning proposals as unmade until they are published.
6. Need help? See our architectural and DA documentation services.

Related guides and services

• All services
• Architectural services (DA / CDC / Class 2)
• Heritage conservation design
• Blacktown planning updates October 2026
• Liverpool planning updates October 2026
• Canterbury-Bankstown planning updates October 2026
• City of Ryde planning updates October 2026

FAQs

Does Penrith DCP Amendment No. 18 change the controls for my house or dual occupancy?

Mostly no. Council describes it as mostly administrative and non-policy: new chapter numbers, updated references and corrections. The policy-level changes are limited to the waste chapter (FOGO guidance), the Luddenham Road chapter and the removal of the Sydney Science Park chapter. You still need to cite the new chapter numbers for DAs assessed from 1 October 2026.

Has the Penrith LEP review been made?

Not that we could confirm as at 15 October 2026. Council endorsed PP-2025-2448 on 24 August 2026 and sent it to Parliamentary Counsel for drafting. The Gateway requires it to be made by 27 November 2026, and it applies from the day it is published on the NSW legislation website.

Can I rely on the Werrington Precinct controls yet?

No. It is a State-assessed proposal that has finished exhibition but has not been determined. Heights, FSRs and lot sizes in the exhibition package are proposals only, and Council has asked for issues to be resolved before it progresses.

Which DCP applies in the Aerotropolis or Mamre Road areas of Penrith?

Not Penrith DCP 2014. State-made DCPs apply there, including the Western Sydney Aerotropolis DCP 2022, the Mamre Road Precinct DCP 2021 and the Mamre West Precinct DCP 2016, as listed on Council’s DCP page. Confirm the applicable plans on a planning certificate before you design.

Next step: Request a Penrith DA design review with giantA. We provide architectural services and approvals documentation for homes and small developments across Greater Sydney.