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If your property is a listed heritage item or located within a heritage conservation area, your local council will usually require a Heritage Impact Statement (HIS)—also referred to as a heritage report—to support your development application (DA).
At Town Planning Collective, we prepare clear, council-ready heritage reports that assess your site’s heritage significance and demonstrate how your proposed works respond appropriately to heritage controls under NSW planning legislation.
A Heritage Impact Statement (HIS) is a specialist planning document required for development applications involving:
Listed heritage items
Properties within a heritage conservation area
Sites adjoining heritage-listed properties
Works that may affect heritage significance
The report identifies the heritage values of the site and surrounding area and assesses whether the proposed development will have an acceptable impact, in accordance with:
Local Environmental Plans (LEPs)
Development Control Plans (DCPs)
NSW Heritage guidelines
Council-specific heritage policies
Heritage Impact Statements are a critical part of achieving DA approval for heritage-affected properties.
You will generally need a heritage report for your DA if your property is:
A heritage-listed item under your council’s LEP
Located within a heritage conservation area
Adjoining a heritage item where impacts may occur
Subject to heritage clauses under State or local planning controls
Councils rely on Heritage Impact Statements to determine whether proposed works are sympathetic to the heritage character of a site and its broader context.
Our heritage impact statements are tailored to council requirements and typically include:
A detailed site and locality description
Historical background of the property and surrounding area
Identification of heritage significance
Assessment of the proposed development against relevant heritage controls
Analysis of impacts on streetscape, setting, and character
Consideration of cumulative and visual impacts
Practical recommendations to minimise heritage impacts
Clear justification to support council approval
All reports are prepared by experienced town planners with heritage expertise and written in a clear, professional formatsuitable for council assessment.
We prepare heritage reports for development applications across New South Wales, including:
Residential alterations and additions
Dual occupancies and attached dwellings
Demolition or partial demolition works
Change of use applications
New dwellings within heritage conservation areas
Our reports are aligned with local council heritage controls and are designed to reduce delays, RFIs, and refusals.
✔ Experienced NSW town planners with heritage expertise
✔ Clear, well-structured reports councils can easily assess
✔ Tailored advice for your specific site and proposal
✔ Fast turnaround times
✔ Fixed-fee pricing with no surprises
We understand both heritage policy and development feasibility, ensuring your proposal is supported without unnecessary restrictions.
We offer upfront, flat-fee pricing for most heritage reports:
Minor Works / Exempt Development Reports: from $1,800 + GST
Simple HIS in a Heritage Conservation Area: from $1,800 + GST
HIS for Listed Heritage Items: from $2,600 + GST
Final fees depend on your property type, scope of works, Council area and complexity of heritage issues.
Discounts apply where we also prepare your Statement of Environmental Effects (SEE) for the same development.
We understand that delays in reports can delay your DA lodging. Most of our Heritage Impact Statements are completed in 2–3 weeks, depending on complexity and the information provided. Our efficient process and extensive experience mean your heritage report is:
thorough and compliant, and
delivered fast enough to keep your project moving.
Town Planning Collective is a boutique town planning and heritage consultancy with over 15 years of experiencepreparing heritage reports, Heritage Impact Statements and Statements of Environmental Effects across NSW.
Clients choose us because we offer:
Specialist heritage and planning expertise across a wide range of councils and development types
Fast, efficient service with regular communication and clear expectations
Transparent, fixed-fee pricing tailored to your project
Practical design advice that balances heritage conservation with modern living and development needs
With Town Planning Collective, you’re not just getting a report—you’re engaging a heritage consultant who understands Council expectations and works with you to achieve the best possible outcome.
Ready to get started on your heritage report?
Send us your plans or supporting documents via email at admin@theplanningcollective.com.au, or complete the contact form below. We’ll review your project, confirm the likely heritage requirements for your Council, and provide a clear, flat-fee quote for your Heritage Impact Statement and any supporting planning reports you may need.
Experienced consultant town planners can help with your development
Bringing an experienced town planner and heritage consultant onboard can help you save money by avoiding unnecessary additional information requests or additional reports.
Engaging a town planner with heritage experience to prepare your statement of environmental effect and heritage impact statements cuts down on the approval timeframe.
Experienced town planners can project manage the development process. Consulting with relevant consultants to ensure your project is delivered and approved quickly.
Town planners and heritage consultants with Council experience are valuable in the development process. Council development officers know the process and understand what needs to be done to gain approval.
Town planners and heritage consulants help remove the stress out of a development application approval by avoiding additional information or just handling the whole Council process for you!
Did you know that, on average, our reports are completed within two weeks of final plans being provided!
At Town Planning Collective, our ability to consistently deliver planning and heritage reports within two weeks isn’t a shortcut — it’s the result of deep expertise, refined systems and decades of industry experience. With thousands of planning and heritage assessments completed across every Council area in NSW, we simply don’t need to reinvent the wheel each time a new project comes through the door. We already know the planning frameworks, the heritage controls, the common issues, and importantly, how different councils interpret and apply their policies.
Our Principal Planner brings almost 20 years of town planning and heritage experience, having worked on an enormous variety of development types, constraints, and legislative frameworks. That level of knowledge means we can quickly diagnose issues, identify opportunities, and produce well-reasoned, compliant reports without delay. Put simply—we’ve seen it all, and our experience allows us to work efficiently without ever compromising on quality.
Because our research base is extensive and our internal processes are streamlined, we can focus our time on what matters most: crafting clear, accurate, council-ready planning reports tailored to your specific development. This combination of expertise, efficiency, and a highly specialised skillset is what allows our fast turnaround to work—project after project, report after report.
Fill out the form below to get a quote for a heritage impact statement or if you need assistance with your project.
Sydney Areas
Blacktown, Campbelltown, Canterbury Bankstown, Canada Bay, Central Coast, Georges River, Hills Shire, Hornsby, Ku-ring-gai, Inner West, Mosman, Northern Beaches, North Sydney, Parramatta, Randwick, Ryde, Sydney, Waverley, Wollondilly, Woollahra, Wollongong
Newcastle – Hunter Valley
Newcastle, Maitland, Cessnock, Singleton, Dungog, Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens
Regional NSW
Mid North Coast, Ballina, Byron Bay, Wagga Wagga, Tweed Shire, Dubbo, Parkes, Armidale, Tamworth, Coffs Harbour, Snowy Mountains, Yass
Town Planning Collective is a professional town planning and heritage consulting practice providing expert advice and approval support for development applications across Sydney and New South Wales. We specialise in navigating local planning controls, heritage requirements, and council approval processes for residential and small-scale developments.
Sydney NSW
Greater Sydney
Regional New South Wales
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