Chowan Creek flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Chowan Creek
(Tweed, NSW) - 12.52 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 26 September 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
12.52 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Chowan Creek'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 Chowan Creek
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 25 Sep 2026
typical observed square 1 a day
Night movements: not established - night is sampled as often as day, but too few night flights have been seen here to conclude either way.
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.
Chowan Creek at a glance
How Chowan Creek is zoned
Buying in Chowan Creek? 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 12.52 km², Chowan Creek is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 3% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 100% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 16 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Rural Landscape. The median lot measures about 309,742 m² across 25 parcels.
Who lives in Chowan Creek
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Chowan Creek 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 919, and decile 2 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Chowan Creek's 57 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Murwillumbah Surrounds, the wider ABS statistical area containing Chowan Creek. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Chowan Creek itself.
8,963 in 2001 to 10,835 in 2025, up 21%.
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.
Chowan Creek 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 26 September 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 Chowan Creek 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 6% of Chowan Creek. The report's Aircraft Overflight page narrows that to the address itself: how many aircraft a day, how low, and at what heights.
Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and an indicative AS 2870 site class for a Chowan Creek lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Chowan Creek planning - frequently asked
Is Chowan Creek flood-prone?
About 3% of Chowan Creek falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 29%.
Is Chowan Creek bushfire-prone?
Around 100% of Chowan Creek is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Tweed average of 91%.
Is Chowan Creek under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 6% of Chowan Creek, and over about 30% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 25 Sep 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 2,000 ft, with an average of 5,000 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 1 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 Chowan Creek?
The dominant planning zone in Chowan Creek is Rural Landscape, though the suburb also includes National Parks and Nature Reserves and Natural Waterways.
Does Chowan Creek have heritage-listed places?
Chowan Creek has 16 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in Chowan Creek?
Across 25 surveyed parcels in Chowan Creek, the median lot size is about 309,742 m². There are also 3 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
What is the population of Chowan Creek?
At the 2021 Census Chowan Creek had 57 usual residents, with a median age of 59 and an average household size of 2.3 people. The wider Murwillumbah Surrounds statistical area, which contains Chowan Creek, went from 8,963 people in 2001 to 10,835 in 2025, up 21%.
Is Chowan Creek an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Chowan Creek scores 919 and sits in decile 2 of 10 nationally and decile 2 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Chowan Creek?
Median household income in Chowan Creek was $866 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,394 for the typical suburb in Tweed. Median rent was $320 a week and the median mortgage repayment $919 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smiths Creek | 2.9 km | 4% | 100% |
| Rowlands Creek | 2.9 km | 4% | 100% |
| Upper Main Arm Byron |
5.1 km | Not mapped | 100% |
| Upper Burringbar | 5.1 km | 1% | 99% |
| Uki | 5.9 km | 19% | 100% |
| Commissioners Creek | 6.6 km | 4% | 100% |
| Stokers Siding | 6.7 km | 6% | 100% |
| Dum Dum | 7.3 km | 6% | 100% |
| Palmwoods Byron |
7.6 km | Not mapped | 100% |
| Terragon | 7.7 km | 10% | 99% |