4.8 Croydon Park
Part 4 – Place Specific Controls
Croydon Park is located on the 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 Croydon consists of an area situated on a base of Ashfield Shale from the Wianamatta Group, which generally produces heavy clay soils. This Country suburb. The topography in Croydon Park has an average elevation of around 21 metres, with terrain generally increasing from 1 metre to 49 metres. The topography is generally gentle to moderate, sloping towards the east and northeast. The landscape along the Cooks River to the south of the suburb is characterised by level to gently undulating alluvial floodplains. The original ecological communities present in Croydon are mainly Sydney Turpentine Ironbark Forest and Sydney Coastal Sandstone Foreshores Forest, and along Cooks River Grey Mangrove-Mangrove Forest.
This Country has been used in accordance with season changes and movements for land management, fishing, travelling and resource gathering for thousands of generations of Aboriginal Peoples. Country remains important to and utilised by First Nations Peoples. In the 2021 Census, the Australian Bureau of Statistics published that 0.8% of the population of Croydon Park identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
Croydon Park's existing character is defined by its low-density residential streetscapes, featuring a mix of Federation and Interwar-style homes, post-war housing, and contemporary infill developments. The suburb's leafy streets, wide verges, and established gardens contribute to its suburban feel, complemented by pockets of local commercial activity along Georges River Road and community facilities that support a strong neighbourhood identity. The suburb's built form is generally low-rise, with a consistent scale and setback pattern that maintains a sense of openness and cohesion.
Croydon Park's desired future character seeks to encourage and control development which respects and reinforces the prevailing low-density residential streetscapes, supporting sympathetic development which maintains the suburb's leafy streets, wide verges, and established gardens. Moderate commercial activity along Georges River Road is encouraged, in order to support the continued operation of a strong neighbourhood identity and serve the day-to-day needs of the local community.
Objectives
To maintain distinctly single storey residential streetscapes within the neighbourhood.
To protect groups or runs of buildings which retain their original roof forms, original detailing, and finishes.
To ensure development maintains and enhances the existing character of each heritage conservation area within the neighbourhood.
To protect and preserve the identified contributory buildings within the neighbourhood and encourage their sympathetic alteration or restoration.
To protect significant streetscapes and/or public domain elements within the neighbourhood.
To allow moderate commercial development on appropriate sites, to serve the day-to-day needs of the local community.
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.
This section contains objectives and controls that apply to the Heritage Conservation Area listed below and shown in Figure 4.8.1.
- Goodlet Street Heritage Conservation Area apply to the land listed as C46
- Hillside Heritage Conservation Area apply to the land listed as C47
Goodlet is important to the local area as the first subdivision of Canterbury Farm Estate in 1919, developed under a covenant to ensure high-quality housing. It reflects changes following the NSW Local Government Act 1906 and retains a strong historic character.
Key Features:
- First subdivision of Canterbury Farm Estate (1919), developed under a building covenant.
- Historical association with John Hay Goodlet (1835–1914), timber merchant and philanthropist, with street names linked to Goodlet and his family.
- Uniform development of single-storey brick Inter-War California Bungalows with terracotta tile roofs.
- Wide streets with grassed verges and the palm tree planting in Hay Street
Table 4.8.1 in Appendix A outlines the ranking of buildings that have been rated in the Goodlet Street Heritage Conservation Area.
Objectives
To facilitate development that is consistent with the statement of significance and controls for Goodlet Street 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-1931 buildings
- b)Pre-1943 street tree planting of palms in Hay Street
- c)Gable ends facing the street with original timber shingled, roughcast stucco or imitation half-timbered finishes (Inter-war period)
- d)Side driveways with garages to the rear of houses
Hillside is important to the local area for its distinctive late Victorian subdivision pattern and its connection to Goodlet's Canterbury House estate. It retains a strong historic character with wide streets, rear laneways, and housing from the Federation and Inter-War periods.
Key Features:
- Subdivision dating from 1882, part of Goodlet's Canterbury House estate.
- Historical association with John Hay Goodlet (1835–1914), timber merchant and philanthropist.
- Distinctive subdivision pattern with rear laneways, wide principal street (Leopold Street) with grassed verges, and early Brush Box street tree planting.
- Predominantly single-storey brick detached houses built in the Federation and Inter-War periods (1910s–1920s).
- Rare early outbuildings off rear laneways.
Objectives
To facilitate development that is consistent with the statement of significance and controls for Hillside Street 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-1931 buildings
- b)Pre-1943 street tree planting of palms in Hay Street
- c)Gable ends facing the street with original timber shingled, roughcast stucco or imitation half-timbered finishes (Federation, Inter-war periods)
- d)Early brick outhouses or stables off rear rights-of-way (examples brick outhouse at rear of 30 Leopold Street, brick stables at rear of No. 19 Leopold Street)