Harpers Hill flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Harpers Hill
(Maitland, NSW) - 3.83 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 3 October 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
3.83 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Harpers Hill'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 Harpers Hill
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
Night movements: observed, lowest 6,000 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.
Harpers Hill at a glance
How Harpers Hill is zoned
Buying in Harpers Hill? 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 3.83 km², Harpers Hill is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 5% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 100% is flagged bushfire-prone. There is 1 heritage-listed site on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Rural Landscape. The median lot measures about 41,694 m² across 35 parcels.
Who lives in Harpers Hill
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Harpers Hill 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 1008, and decile 6 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Harpers Hill's 64 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Branxton - Greta - Pokolbin, the wider ABS statistical area containing Harpers Hill. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Harpers Hill itself.
7,490 in 2001 to 16,413 in 2025, up 119%.
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.
Harpers Hill 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 Harpers Hill 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 20% of Harpers Hill. 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 Harpers Hill lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Harpers Hill planning - frequently asked
Is Harpers Hill flood-prone?
About 5% of Harpers Hill falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 50%.
Is Harpers Hill bushfire-prone?
Around 100% of Harpers Hill is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Maitland average of 80%.
Is Harpers Hill under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 20% of Harpers Hill, and over about 43% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 2 Oct 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 2,000 ft, with an average of 3,500 ft. 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 Harpers Hill?
The dominant planning zone in Harpers Hill is Rural Landscape, though the suburb also includes Primary Production and Infrastructure.
Does Harpers Hill have heritage-listed places?
Harpers Hill has 1 heritage-listed place on record.
What is the typical lot size in Harpers Hill?
Across 35 surveyed parcels in Harpers Hill, the median lot size is about 41,694 m². There are also 2 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does Harpers Hill have a train station?
There is no train station inside Harpers Hill itself. The suburb is served by 6 bus stops.
What is the population of Harpers Hill?
At the 2021 Census Harpers Hill had 64 usual residents, with a median age of 54 and an average household size of 2.4 people. The wider Branxton - Greta - Pokolbin statistical area, which contains Harpers Hill, went from 7,490 people in 2001 to 16,413 in 2025, up 119%.
Is Harpers Hill an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Harpers Hill scores 1008 and sits in decile 7 of 10 nationally and decile 6 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Harpers Hill?
Median household income in Harpers Hill was $1,562 a week at the 2021 Census, against $2,015 for the typical suburb in Maitland. Median rent was $273 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,419 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oswald | 1.1 km | 51% | 100% |
| Greta Cessnock |
2.3 km | 15% | 89% |
| Allandale Cessnock |
2.8 km | 7% | 100% |
| Luskintyre | 4.3 km | 42% | 99% |
| Lochinvar | 4.7 km | 7% | 87% |
| Windermere | 5.1 km | 42% | 99% |
| North Rothbury Cessnock |
6.0 km | 10% | 84% |
| Leconfield Singleton |
6.1 km | 0% | 92% |
| Keinbah Cessnock |
6.2 km | 11% | 94% |
| Rothbury Cessnock |
6.2 km | 34% | 99% |