4.4 Balmain East
Part 4 – Place Specific Controls
Balmain East is located on the traditional lands of the Wangal. Wangal lands extend approximately from the south side of Darling Harbour, around the Balmain Peninsula including Memel (Goat Island), reaching from Iron Cove toward Parramatta in the west, with the Parramatta River lying where the northern boundary approximately falls.
Wangal Country in Balmain East consists of rugged sandstone headlands, steep foreshores and surrounded by several bays that enrich this part of Country. This Country is surrounded by saltwater. The topography in Balmain East is undulating to rolling rises and low hills on Hawkesbury Sandstone. Local relief of 20–80 metres, with slopes 10–25% and <25% of rock outcrops. This topography results in broad convex crests, moderately inclined sideslopes with wide benches, localised rock outcrops on low broken scarps. The original ecological communities present in Balmain East are predominantly Sydney Coastal Sandstone Foreshores Forest and Sydney Coastal Enriched Sandstone Forest.
This Country has been used for travelling on nawi (bark canoes), gathering shellfish and seasonally hunting marsupials through the bushland toward the eastern tip of the peninsula. Surrounded and shaped by saltwater, this part of Country is still important to Aboriginal Peoples today. In the 2021 Census, the Australian Bureau of Statistics published that 0.4% of the population of Balmain East identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
The Balmain East neighbourhood is the area of the Balmain Peninsula east of Hart Street and Jubilee Street, excluding land in the Darling Street neighbourhood. All vehicular access to Balmain East is via Darling Street.
Balmain East is a distinct knoll or headland projecting easterly into the harbour. The knoll falls steeply on all sides to the water except for a narrow neck to the west connecting to Balmain proper.
Surface rock is apparent in road cuts as well as cliff lines in the view from the water. The headland has a hammerhead form. The east face of the headland is oriented towards the main harbour, framed by the Sydney Harbour Bridge; the northerly slopes fall down towards Mort Bay and southerly slopes fall down to Johnstons Bay and have an orientation to the city and port activities as well as Pyrmont and Ultimo.
When viewed from the city, Balmain East is seen prominently as part of the peninsula due to its natural form and rocky edges which fall into the harbour.
There have been extensive reclamations with narrow foreshore terraces behind stone sea walls in the area. Extensive landscaped edges and parks to the foreshores give a semblance of naturalness however this is largely a created landscape, with excavation and reclamation producing an altered topography and loss of native vegetation. Clearing of the original vegetation for grazing, roads, housing and industry and the excavation for industrial sites and docks have greatly changed the landform of the area.
Future character will include protection of the distinctive character of the East Balmain Heritage Conservation Area with new development being respectful of and subordinate to the existing heritage fabric. Architectural forms must protect historic silhouettes and a mature canopy of trees rather than bulky modern structures. The "Colonial Nucleus" of the area is preserved by prioritising the conservation of pre-1860 structures and traditional materials. The vision seeks to prioritise public domain and amenity improvements that expand the quality of the public foreshore to mitigate urban heat and improve biodiversity and enhance the pedestrian experience along the Darling Street "spine" leading to the ferry wharf.
Objectives
To ensure development maintains and enhances the existing character the East Balmain heritage conservation area.
Note: The rarity of the early Victorian, but Georgian in style, nucleus of buildings in Balmain East requires stricter controls than elsewhere on the peninsula. As a representation of early Sydney, it is of great importance to the history of the city as a whole, alongside other historic precincts such as the Rocks, and the Colonial precincts of Parramatta. While the later phases of buildings contribute to its character, and represent the phases of development, the earliest layer needs the most careful treatment. Accordingly, the scope for new development is limited and the task is largely conservation of the existing fabric while allowing complementary and incremental change.
Controls
Development, including land uses and urban design, is to enhance and achieve the desired future character of the neighbourhood while retaining elements that contribute to that character and meeting all relevant DCP requirements.
Maintain the character of the area by keeping development consistent in architectural style, building form and materials including maintaining the individual patterns of architectural style along each street.
New or altered buildings are to respect the area's conservation values by:
- a)Conserving rare structures: All buildings constructed before 1850 are rare and are to be preserved, with visual access from the public domain retained.
- b)Responding to landform and views: New development is to follow land contours and respect view lines from surrounding properties.
- c)Protecting water views: Development visible from the water is to preserve the area's conservation values when viewed from the water. Development applications are to include photomontages showing the proposal from water viewpoints.
- d)Maintaining side setbacks and sightlines: New development is to match the side setbacks of adjacent properties (e.g., freestanding or terrace forms) to maintain sightlines and water views between buildings. Side gates are to be of an open design to preserve these views.
- e)Applying appropriate front setbacks: Generally, 0–2 metres, except where context requires a deeper setback. Narrow verandahs built to the street frontage are generally appropriate for narrow streets such as Datchett, Little Nicholson, and Union Streets.
Development is to step with the contour of the land.
Materials are to include shaped sandstone, painted timber, and rendered or bagged masonry. Steel roofing in 'gull grey' is appropriate in most circumstances, with slate replacing slate otherwise.
Fencing and balustrading is to be generally vertical metal or timber picket style, without ornamentation. Front fencing is to be open and not more than 1.2m high.
Verandah and balcony structures are to be timber or metal or a mix of both and not include masonry elements.
Development around escarpments is to avoid cutting, altering topography, or removing associated vegetation, and buildings or structures are to be designed so they do not dominate the escarpment.
Maintain mature trees on public and private land, including mature trees and other significant vegetation between development and the waterfront.
Prevent the disruption of footpaths by discouraging additional driveway crossings.
Site specific controls apply to the precincts identified in the following list and Figure 4.4.1 below
- South of Darling Street Precinct apply to the land marked 'A'
This area lies south of Darling Street and west of Johnston Street. It is notably modest in scale, with a narrow, dense built form and many timber workers' cottages featuring zero to 1-metre setbacks and pitched or gable roofs.
Streets near Union and Datchett Streets are extremely narrow (2.1–4 metres wide) and lack footpaths. Due to limited vehicle capacity and on-street parking, development is to retain the traditional low-density character of one dwelling per existing lot.
A distinctive feature is the uniform rear building line along the eastern side of Union Street, creating a green corridor approximately 80m x 30m. This corridor provides significant amenity and is highly valued by the community for its aggregate open space and the sense of openness it creates.
Development scale generally follows the topography. Houses are predominantly timber, with some stone or brick. The area also includes an escarpment approximately 12 metres high, set back up to 65 metres from the southern foreshore. This exposed rock face isolates the lower section and prevents through traffic.
Objectives
To facilitate development that maintains the existing character of the South of Darling Street Precinct.
Controls
Design development to reflect the tight-knit, modest character of timber cottages and narrow streets.
Design development to address the constraints of narrow roads, very limited parking, inadequate vehicle turning space, and the absence of footpaths. These limitations may make some proposals unsuitable even if they meet other planning requirements.
Maintain the existing number of dwellings on Datchett, Little Nicholson, Union, and Vernon Streets. Support additional dwellings only where the proposal demonstrates that extra traffic will not increase congestion or compromise pedestrian safety.
Retain the green corridor created by the backyards in this area for its amenity value and its contribution to biodiversity.
Maintain the established rear building line between 14B and 20 Union Street at approximately 26 metres from the front boundary. Design new development on surrounding lots to avoid impacting this green area through excessive bulk, appropriate form or location, or by compromising privacy and sunlight.
The controls for:
- Balmain East Heritage Conservation Area apply to the land listed as C29
East Balmain is one of a number of conservation areas that collectively illustrate the nature of Sydney's early suburbs and suburban growth, particularly between 1871 and 1891, with pockets of infill up to the late 1930s (prior to World War II). The earliest developments here predate development in the Inner West, with marine villas and cottages from the 1840s, modest-scale housing from the 1870s through to the 1930s, and associated industry. It is significant for its surviving development from these periods and its strong historical and aesthetic associations with Sydney's harbour and port history.
Key Features:
- Evidence of layered development: marine villas (1840s), modest workers' housing (1870s–1930s), and industry.
- Public parks and remaining waterfront activities that interpret Sydney's port history and the role of Balmain's deep-water frontages.
- Narrow street alignments reflecting early subdivision of the original 550-acre Balmain grant.
- Sandstone steps and cuttings illustrating how early roads and pedestrian routes were formed from bedrock.
- Mixture of sandstone villas and timber and brick cottages demonstrating themes of marine villa investment, port activity, and ongoing layering of development.
- Remaining timber buildings reflecting the importance of timber as a major construction material and proximity to waterfront timber yards.
- Dramatic sandstone landscape closely related to the harbour, contrasting with the nearby city's twentieth-century man-made landscape.
Objectives
To facilitate development that is consistent with the statement of significance and controls for East Balmain Heritage Conservation Area.
Controls
Note: These controls apply in addition to the general heritage provisions in Section 2.12 of this DCP. Applicants are to address both the general heritage controls and the locality-specific controls below.
Retain the following elements that define the heritage significance:
- a)All pre-1939 buildings
- b)Sandstone structures and cuttings including cottages, villas, schools, wharves/slipways, curbs and gutters, walls, fence bases, and steps
- c)Sandstone outcrops
- d)Views between buildings visible from public places including footpaths and roads, especially views to the harbour
- e)Trees, especially large figs which form an important role in the landscape of the area, and views to the area from the harbour