North Rothbury flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of North Rothbury
(Cessnock, NSW) - 17.27 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
17.27 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to North Rothbury'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 North Rothbury
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 1 a day
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.
North Rothbury at a glance
How North Rothbury is zoned
Buying in North Rothbury? 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 17.27 km², North Rothbury is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 10% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 84% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 4 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Rural Landscape. The median lot measures about 576 m² across 2,585 parcels.
Who lives in North Rothbury
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the North Rothbury 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 995, and decile 5 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of North Rothbury's 2,502 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Branxton - Greta - Pokolbin, the wider ABS statistical area containing North Rothbury. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than North Rothbury 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.
North Rothbury 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 North Rothbury 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 35% of North Rothbury. 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 North Rothbury lot.
See what's in the $9 report →North Rothbury planning - frequently asked
Is North Rothbury flood-prone?
About 10% of North Rothbury falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 17%.
Is North Rothbury bushfire-prone?
Around 84% of North Rothbury is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Cessnock average of 91%.
Is North Rothbury under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 35% of North Rothbury, and over about 75% 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 1,500 ft, with an average of 3,500 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 2 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 North Rothbury?
The dominant planning zone in North Rothbury is Rural Landscape, though the suburb also includes Mixed Use and General Residential.
Does North Rothbury have heritage-listed places?
North Rothbury has 4 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in North Rothbury?
Across 2,585 surveyed parcels in North Rothbury, the median lot size is about 576 m². There are also 3 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does North Rothbury have a train station?
There is no train station inside North Rothbury itself. The suburb is served by 46 bus stops.
What is the population of North Rothbury?
At the 2021 Census North Rothbury had 2,502 usual residents, with a median age of 30 and an average household size of 2.9 people. The wider Branxton - Greta - Pokolbin statistical area, which contains North Rothbury, went from 7,490 people in 2001 to 16,413 in 2025, up 119%.
Is North Rothbury an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), North Rothbury scores 995 and sits in decile 6 of 10 nationally and decile 5 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in North Rothbury?
Median household income in North Rothbury was $2,206 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,929 for the typical suburb in Cessnock. Median rent was $450 a week and the median mortgage repayment $2,000 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rothbury | 2.1 km | 34% | 99% |
| Greta | 3.8 km | 15% | 89% |
| East Branxton | 4.4 km | 41% | 20% |
| Belford Singleton |
5.6 km | Not mapped | 98% |
| Branxton Singleton |
5.7 km | Not mapped | 91% |
| Harpers Hill Maitland |
6.0 km | 5% | 100% |
| Leconfield Singleton |
6.8 km | 0% | 92% |
| Oswald Maitland |
7.1 km | 51% | 100% |
| Allandale | 7.2 km | 7% | 100% |
| Lovedale | 8.1 km | 26% | 94% |