Pillar Valley flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Pillar Valley
(Clarence Valley, NSW) - 196.33 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
196.33 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Pillar Valley'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 Pillar Valley
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: 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.
Pillar Valley at a glance
How Pillar Valley is zoned
Buying in Pillar Valley? 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 196.33 km², Pillar Valley is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 4% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 100% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 44 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Rural Landscape. The median lot measures about 164,666 m² across 377 parcels.
Who lives in Pillar Valley
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Pillar Valley 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 898, and decile 1 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Pillar Valley's 352 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Grafton Surrounds, the wider ABS statistical area containing Pillar Valley. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Pillar Valley itself.
14,917 in 2001 to 18,099 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.
Pillar Valley 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 Pillar Valley 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.
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 Pillar Valley lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Pillar Valley planning - frequently asked
Is Pillar Valley flood-prone?
About 4% of Pillar Valley falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 24%.
Is Pillar Valley bushfire-prone?
Around 100% of Pillar Valley is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Clarence Valley average of 94%.
Is Pillar Valley under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed over about 1% of Pillar Valley in the period sampled, but only above 3,000 ft - the lowest measured was 8,000 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 Pillar Valley?
The dominant planning zone in Pillar Valley is Rural Landscape, though the suburb also includes Forestry and National Parks and Nature Reserves.
Does Pillar Valley have heritage-listed places?
Pillar Valley has 44 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in Pillar Valley?
Across 377 surveyed parcels in Pillar Valley, the median lot size is about 164,666 m². There are also 5 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does Pillar Valley have a train station?
There is no train station inside Pillar Valley itself. The suburb is served by 65 bus stops.
What is the population of Pillar Valley?
At the 2021 Census Pillar Valley had 352 usual residents, with a median age of 50 and an average household size of 2.3 people. The wider Grafton Surrounds statistical area, which contains Pillar Valley, went from 14,917 people in 2001 to 18,099 in 2025, up 21%.
Is Pillar Valley an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Pillar Valley scores 898 and sits in decile 2 of 10 nationally and decile 1 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Pillar Valley?
Median household income in Pillar Valley was $992 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,187 for the typical suburb in Clarence Valley. Median rent was $250 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,366 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tucabia | 5.7 km | 46% | 98% |
| Bookram | 6.3 km | 0% | 100% |
| Gilletts Ridge | 8.7 km | 90% | 100% |
| Lavadia | 9.3 km | 66% | 96% |
| Sandy Crossing | 10.2 km | 0% | 100% |
| Minnie Water | 11.0 km | 0% | 100% |
| Coldstream | 12.1 km | 99% | 100% |
| Calliope | 12.3 km | 100% | 100% |
| The Sandon | 12.5 km | 0% | 98% |
| Ulmarra | 13.0 km | 100% | 94% |