Bar Beach flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Bar Beach
(Newcastle, NSW) - 0.51 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is moderately constrained.
Profile updated 3 October 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
0.51 km² - this suburb is moderately constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Bar Beach's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Magenta is where aircraft were observed in the sampled period, brightest below 3,000 ft.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
Aircraft noise and flight paths over Bar Beach
Two different things, kept apart on purpose. The ANEF contour is the planning instrument - a forecast published per airport that planning schemes use to control noise-sensitive development. Observed overflight is what a sampled aircraft-tracking feed actually recorded over the suburb - where aircraft flew, how low and how often.
Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 2 Oct 2026
typical observed square 2 a day
Night movements: observed, lowest 8,500 ft - night is sampled as often as day, but night traffic is light, so this is a floor and no rate can be put on it.
Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously, so every figure is a floor: aircraft not captured between samples are not represented. Rates are per 500 m square - the busiest square in the suburb, not a count of flights over the suburb - and a square is only rated where enough traffic was seen to measure it. Altitudes are above mean sea level. Flight paths change with runway use, weather, season and airspace design. This is a record of observed traffic; it is not a noise contour and not a planning control.
Bar Beach at a glance
How Bar Beach is zoned
Buying in Bar Beach? The zoning, flood and bushfire lines on the section 10.7 certificate attached to the contract are mapped controls - see our s10.7 certificate guide.
Across its 0.51 km², Bar Beach is moderately constrained by planning overlays. About 18% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay. There are 16 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Public Recreation. The median lot measures about 615 m² across 322 parcels.
Who lives in Bar Beach
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Bar Beach suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.
Socio-economic standing
ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.
Score 1069, and decile 9 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Bar Beach's 1,292 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Newcastle - Cooks Hill, the wider ABS statistical area containing Bar Beach. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Bar Beach itself.
8,459 in 2001 to 14,632 in 2025, up 73%.
Source: ABS Census 2021 and SEIFA 2021 (Suburbs and Localities), Regional Population (SA2), CC BY 4.0. Small counts are randomly adjusted by the ABS.
Bar Beach data sources and coverage
“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.
| Dataset | Coverage | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Flood mapping | Mapped | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Bushfire-prone mapping | Mapped | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Zoning | Mapped | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Heritage and environment | Mapped where published | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Aircraft noise contours (ANEF) | Not held | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies, Defence |
| Observed flight paths | Observed | adsb.lol, under the Open Database License |
| Demographics | Available | Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA) |
Profile last materially updated 3 October 2026. See the methodology and full source list. Source data changes over time and critical decisions should be checked with the responsible authority.
Check a specific Bar Beach address
See exactly which overlays touch a single property - the interactive map is free. Need it on paper? A full planning PDF is just $9.
Aircraft have been seen below 3,000 ft over about 61% of Bar Beach. The report's Aircraft Overflight page narrows that to the address itself: how many aircraft a day, how low, and at what heights.
Published flood models are held over parts of Bar Beach. The free check tells you whether one reaches an address; where it does, a Flood Model Report is +$9 with the planning report.
Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and an indicative AS 2870 site class for a Bar Beach lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Bar Beach planning - frequently asked
Is Bar Beach flood-prone?
About 18% of Bar Beach falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 39%. Published flood models are held over parts of Bar Beach; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether one reaches a given address.
Is Bar Beach bushfire-prone?
Bushfire mapping covers Bar Beach and little to none of it is mapped as bushfire-prone (the Newcastle average is 24%).
Is Bar Beach under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 61% of Bar Beach, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 2 Oct 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 500 ft, with an average of 1,000 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 4 aircraft a day were recorded passing over one 500 m square. Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously and flight paths change with runway use, weather and season; the ANEF contour is the planning instrument.
What is the zoning in Bar Beach?
The dominant planning zone in Bar Beach is Public Recreation, though the suburb also includes Low Density Residential and Medium Density Residential.
Does Bar Beach have heritage-listed places?
Bar Beach has 16 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in Bar Beach?
Across 322 surveyed parcels in Bar Beach, the median lot size is about 615 m².
Does Bar Beach have a train station?
There is no train station inside Bar Beach itself. The suburb is served by 18 bus stops.
What is the population of Bar Beach?
At the 2021 Census Bar Beach had 1,292 usual residents, with a median age of 41 and an average household size of 2.3 people. The wider Newcastle - Cooks Hill statistical area, which contains Bar Beach, went from 8,459 people in 2001 to 14,632 in 2025, up 73%.
Is Bar Beach an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Bar Beach scores 1069 and sits in decile 9 of 10 nationally and decile 9 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Bar Beach?
Median household income in Bar Beach was $2,300 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,818 for the typical suburb in Newcastle. Median rent was $393 a week and the median mortgage repayment $2,700 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooks Hill | 0.6 km | 49% | 0% |
| The Junction | 0.7 km | 83% | 0% |
| The Hill | 0.9 km | 4% | 4% |
| Newcastle West | 1.3 km | 63% | 0% |
| Hamilton East | 1.8 km | 80% | 0% |
| Hamilton South | 2.1 km | 67% | 0% |
| Merewether | 2.1 km | 21% | 52% |
| Wickham | 2.4 km | 88% | 0% |
| Newcastle East | 2.5 km | 34% | 0% |
| Carrington | 2.9 km | 81% | 0% |