North Arm Cove, New South Wales Facts for Kids

Suburbs around North Arm Cove:
The Branch	The Branch	Nerong
Karuah, Carrington	North Arm Cove	Tea Gardens, Pindimar, North Arm Cove
Port Stephens	Port Stephens	Port Stephens

North Arm Cove is a small area in New South Wales, Australia. It's part of the Mid-Coast Council region. This area is located near Port Stephens and stretches north of the Pacific Highway. Not many people live here, with most residents found in the southern part of the area.

North Arm Cove's Past
- A City Plan from 1918
- How Land is Used Today
Future Vision for North Arm Cove
- The North Arm Cove Initiative
- What Authorities Are Doing

North Arm Cove's Past

A City Plan from 1918

A long time ago, in 1918, people thought Port Stephens might become a major port for New South Wales, or even Australia's capital city! Because of this, a famous architect named Walter Burley Griffin designed a huge city plan for the area. He also designed Canberra, Australia's capital.

Walter Burley Griffin's original plan for Port Stephens City from 1918.

Unlike his other city plans, this one for Port Stephens was made to fit the narrow, finger-shaped bay. It included different areas for city life:

A major railway and port were planned on the western side.
Near the port, there would be a Custom House and an Administration Centre.
Further north, areas were set aside for shops and factories.
A retail area with a market square was planned along the main road.
A residential area was designed to the north.
Griffin even planned spots for schools, a church, theatres, a library, and public parks.

The local council approved these plans in May 1918.

Walter Burley Griffin's wife, Marion Mahony Griffin, wrote that her husband believed Port Stephens was one of only two "natural seaports" in Australia. She said he got a real estate company interested, and the land was surveyed and quickly sold.

During this surveying work, the Griffins met local Aboriginal people. This experience helped them learn about and love Australia's native plants. They believed that learning from ancient cultures could help people think differently and more openly.

In the early 1920s, another well-known surveyor and developer, Henry Halloran, further divided the land. Many of the dirt roads you can still see from the air today are from these original plans.

How Land is Used Today

Much of the land from the 1918 plan is now called "non-urban." This means you generally can't build houses on it without special permission. This has caused some arguments over the years, even being discussed in the NSW Parliament.

Even so, many people buy these blocks of land as an investment or to use for weekend getaways. The land is often bought and sold again because owners get frustrated when they can't build on their properties. In 2013, the NSW Parliament passed laws to help deal with these old "paper subdivisions" (where land was planned on paper but never fully developed for building).

Because of these rules, there are only a few places where houses can be built, mostly smaller blocks. The Mid-Coast Council has said they don't plan to change the "non-urban" land for building houses. In the main village of North Arm Cove, many older, smaller houses have been replaced with bigger, more expensive ones.

North of the Pacific Highway, the land is mostly used for farming. You can often see kangaroos and wallabies roaming around this area.

Future Vision for North Arm Cove

The North Arm Cove Initiative

"Back to the future - North Arm Cove Initiative" - SEEDS Conference 2022 - Award, Project Management, High Commendation

In 2019, some landowners, with help from architects and planners, started the "North Arm Cove Initiative." Their goal is to develop North Arm Cove in a way that respects Walter Burley and Marion Mahony Griffin's original plans. They want to create a community that is good for the environment, strong, and lasting.

One of their first projects was a competition for students across Australia called "Back to the future - North Arm Cove." It asked young architects and planners for their ideas on how people could live in regional Australian cities in the future. The winning idea came from the "Back on Track" team.

In 2022, a research paper about the "North Arm Cove Initiative" was presented at an international conference in the UK. The paper won an award for its ideas on project management. It suggested a way to plan and build communities that are sustainable, using ideas from the Circular Economy. This means trying to reuse and recycle resources as much as possible. The paper also looked at the challenges and opportunities for North Arm Cove's development.

What Authorities Are Doing

In December 2022, the "Hunter Regional Plan 2041" was updated. It now includes a goal to "Consider historical paper subdivisions." This means local councils, like Mid-Coast Council, are looking at the difficulties of developing these old paper subdivisions in places like North Arm Cove. They've found that building roads and services for new homes can be very expensive, and there are often important environmental areas to protect. They are still investigating if there are ways to develop these areas without costing too much.

In March 2024, the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure suggested changes to the Mid-Coast Council's new local plan (called the Draft LEP). They want to create a special "C4 Environmental Living zone" for these paper subdivision sites, with a minimum block size of 5 hectares. For smaller block sizes to be allowed, a detailed plan needs to be created that shows how services like water and electricity will be provided.

The Mid-Coast LEP is expected to be finalized and put into action in early 2025.

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North Arm Cove, New South Wales facts for kids

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