The Pocket flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of The Pocket
(Byron, NSW) - 15.91 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
15.91 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to The Pocket'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 The Pocket
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 26 Sep 2026
typical observed square 1 a day
Night movements: observed, lowest 6,500 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.
The Pocket at a glance
How The Pocket is zoned
Buying in The Pocket? 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 15.91 km², The Pocket is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 13% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 100% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 10 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Primary Production. The median lot measures about 29,687 m² across 116 parcels.
Who lives in The Pocket
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the The Pocket 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 1038, and decile 8 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of The Pocket's 231 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Mullumbimby, the wider ABS statistical area containing The Pocket. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than The Pocket itself.
7,623 in 2001 to 9,662 in 2025, up 27%.
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.
The Pocket 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 The Pocket 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 19% of The Pocket. 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 The Pocket lot.
See what's in the $9 report →The Pocket planning - frequently asked
Is The Pocket flood-prone?
About 13% of The Pocket falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 22%.
Is The Pocket bushfire-prone?
Around 100% of The Pocket is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Byron average of 94%.
Is The Pocket under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 19% of The Pocket, and over about 50% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 26 Sep 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 2,500 ft, with an average of 3,500 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 The Pocket?
The dominant planning zone in The Pocket is Primary Production, though the suburb also includes Rural Landscape and Environmental Conservation.
Does The Pocket have heritage-listed places?
The Pocket has 10 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in The Pocket?
Across 116 surveyed parcels in The Pocket, the median lot size is about 29,687 m². There are also 3 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
What is the population of The Pocket?
At the 2021 Census The Pocket had 231 usual residents, with a median age of 44 and an average household size of 2.9 people. The wider Mullumbimby statistical area, which contains The Pocket, went from 7,623 people in 2001 to 9,662 in 2025, up 27%.
Is The Pocket an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), The Pocket scores 1038 and sits in decile 8 of 10 nationally and decile 8 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in The Pocket?
Median household income in The Pocket was $1,812 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,634 for the typical suburb in Byron. Median rent was $470 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,950 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Pocket | 1.7 km | 8% | 100% |
| Yelgun | 3.6 km | 9% | 100% |
| Main Arm | 4.1 km | 10% | 100% |
| Billinudgel | 4.6 km | 30% | 100% |
| Crabbes Creek Tweed |
5.0 km | 22% | 100% |
| Mullumbimby | 5.8 km | 54% | 92% |
| Mullumbimby Creek | 5.9 km | 2% | 100% |
| Palmwoods | 6.5 km | Not mapped | 100% |
| Ocean Shores | 6.7 km | 54% | 81% |
| Upper Main Arm | 7.2 km | Not mapped | 100% |