Our previous blog was about understanding what a Heritage Overlay is.

A Neighbourhood Character overlay is another requirement of your local council, if where you live falls into an area with this type of overlay. 



Toowoomba Regional Council states that Neighbourhood Character Overlay applies to areas in the Toowoomba Region that have a specific character due to their streetscapes and the consistency of the built form in the street. The houses in Neighbourhood Character areas are often set in a street environment that reinforces both the aesthetic value of the houses and their distinctive local character.

Important local character values vary between areas covered by the overlay, but generally include predominantly low-set, often pre-World War II detached timber housing, mature street trees, established residential gardens and property trees, and bluestone kerbing. 

This classification has more freedom than the ‘Heritage Overlay’ in terms of your renovation/home extension proposal. 

With a Character Overlay, it is generally expected that you will need to keep the facade of the home in keeping with its original appearance, as closely as possible. Extensions carried out at the back of a property in a Character Overlay area have a bit more freedom, as long as the extension doesn’t impact on the overall view from the front of the house. 

As with a Heritage Overlay area, it is best to seek advice from Council if you are considering renovating or extending an older home before proceeding so that you know exactly what you can and can’t do. 

The team at Matchett Constructions have experience when it comes to working with Character overlays in our beautiful city of Toowoomba. 

Want to know more? Get in touch with the team at Matchett Constructions by calling us on 0427 543 104.

We look forward to working with you!